


Swords and Blossoms

by kaifectionery_fest



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Some Fluff, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-23 15:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaifectionery_fest/pseuds/kaifectionery_fest
Summary: Jongin is enjoying a perfectly pleasant evening in a bar when he hears a voice from his past. Bad memories and painful feelings come flooding back, and Jongin has to connect dots all over Seoul to avert disaster in a desperate race against time.





	Swords and Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> TW for mentions of injuries and blood (all in all pretty mild and non-fatal but I thought I'd better warn those who need it)
> 
> Also I tried to include fluff, but it's probably not as much as the recipient was hoping... happy ending is a given, though!
> 
> -
> 
> This was written by eoryndal! Check out the author's other works [here](https://fictiournal.livejournal.com/)!
> 
> -

1\. Luck


Jongin almost cheered out loud as he drew one of the three cards Wonshik was holding. The Eight of Blossoms matched his Eight of Swords! They didn't amount to a lot of points but getting a pair was already rare enough that he had pretty good chances of winning this round. He slapped the two cards face up on the table, letting his friends see them.

Moonkyu was forced to watch the three winners since he had lost the previous round. He wiggled his eyebrows. Now that Jongin had 'opened,' Taemin and Wonshik had to 'chase,' revealing their best two cards. Heart pounding, Jongin took a swig of his beer and waited.

Wonshik laid a Three of Mirrors down with extra slow motions. Alone, the card was no match against Jongin's pair, but it was impossible to read in Wonshik's poker face whether he had a matching card. Taemin and Moonkyu leaned closer. Jongin held his breath. Clearly basking in the attention of his friends, Wonshik smiled at them and tapped the other card in his hand, before slapping it down quickly.

A Two of Mirrors. Jongin groaned. A same-numbered pair, like the one he had, was weaker than two consecutive numbers of the same colour so Wonshik had already 'closed.' Now all eyes turned to Taemin who was still holding onto his two cards, a smile on his face. Jongin could only hope that Taemin would 'fall' instead of 'closing,' too. Then he could at least be runner-up and battle it out with Wonshik in the last round.

“Let me see!” Moonkyu clapped excitedly and leaned over to Taemin, trying to peek, but Taemin pulled his cards away.

“Come on, I'm not even in this round, let me– aw, fine. I bet they're crap, anyway.”

“Chances _are_ pretty low to get something better than a Two and Three,” Taemin admitted. But Jongin narrowed his eyes, trying to read Taemin's smile. He definitely didn't have crap cards, he was acting too cock-sure for that. In fact, Jongin saw his chances of making second place dwindle even before Taemin finally revealed his cards with a big flourish.

Wonshik and Jongin shouted in surprise. Moonkyu jumped up and slapped Taemin's shoulder before pulling him into a congratulatory headlock.

“You lucky son of a–!” Moonkyu yelled, laughing. “How did you get the Empress of Bells _and_ the fucking Tiger?! I can't believe this! The highest combination! I've never seen this with my own eyes.”

Taemin let himself be jostled, laughing softly, visibly pleased with himself. Jongin could only pout and let out a low, frustrated hum. “You fought hard...” He petted his two Eights in front of him.

But he didn't sulk for long. It was just a game and largely depended on luck. And most importantly, playing with his friends was fun, even if he lost a round. He would just let Wonshik and Taemin go against each other to decide the winner, and then all four of them could start a new round and crown a new winner.

Moonkyu collected all cards into a stack and shuffled them. Jongin grabbed his beer bottle for another swig but found it empty.

“I'm getting another beer. Do you want anything?” he asked his friends, sliding out from the booth they were sitting in.

  
“Bring Jack and Coke for all of us!” Taemin shouted before anyone else could get a word in. They just laughed and nodded because they would have ordered the same thing. It was what they usually had.

The bar was always terribly crowded at this time on a Saturday night. Jongin had to weave past many sweaty bodies to get to the bar. He apologized when he bumped into someone but his voice didn't carry well over the general level of noise so no one replied. Most people seemed fine with it, though. There was no other way than gently shoving if you wanted to get from one end of the bar to the other. Some even sought bodily contact on purpose, trailing a hand down Jongin's shoulder when he squeezed past them. He was glad when a tall guy turned away from the counter with three cups of mixed drinks in his hands, giving Jongin the chance to slip into the empty spot.

Wedged between a kissing couple on his right and a group of chatting guys on his left, Jongin waited for the bartender to catch his attention.

“–gonna make it work this time. Our plan is–”

Snippets of a conversation drifted into his ears, most of it lost in the general noise of hundreds of other people talking loudly over the rock music blaring from the speakers.

“–meet up tomorrow to–”

“What can I get for you?” The handsome bartender leaned over to Jongin and smiled.

After waiting for so long Jongin needed a moment to recollect what he was going to order. “Uh... three Jack and Coke. And, uhm, one non-alcoholic beer.” He was already tipsy enough. Not that he had the highest tolerance in the first place, and today the thought of more alcohol just didn't sit right with him.

The bartender nodded and got to work. Someone pushed between Jongin and the couple, clamouring for a refill of his shot glass. Slightly uncomfortable with the heavily drunk newcomer, Jongin scooted over as much as possible without being pressed up against the person on his left. Jongin glanced at the man but he had his back to Jongin and was so engrossed in his conversation that he wasn't bothered by other people around him.

“–give you all the details here but we'll burn everything down.”

His companion threw his head back and let out a guttural laugh. “The whole city? That'll be a feast for our kind. Ortag, you are truly twisted.”

Jongin's heart screeched to a stop. Words he thought he'd never have to hear again. His head whipped around and he gaped at the men, before his fear and survival instincts kicked in and he ducked blindly into the crowd. Away. From the corner of his eyes he saw the confused bartender placing the beer and the Jack and Cokes on the counter, looking around for the patron who had ordered them. But Jongin couldn't go back there. He wasn't safe. No one was safe.

Cold terror washed over him as memories came flooding back. Memories of the fight two years ago, the fear and the danger and the exhaustion. He thought– They _all_ thought they'd won. They had defeated the Twisted back then. They had extinguished them, he was sure. Okay, Jongin may have left his team and gone into hiding after that last fight, after he'd done that disastrous, ill-advised thing... but he'd been on the lookout just like the remaining Guardians. The Organization had dissolved but there were still teams as well as single mavericks. All the reports that had reached Jongin's ears said that no Twisted were left.

And yet. The man at the bar, Ortag or whatever his companion had called him. He had moved his head just before Jongin had slipped past a tall, broad-shouldered woman with a high ponytail. And Jongin had seen his chipped ear. That was undeniable proof. He might have chalked their use of the word “twisted” up to silly coincidence or his own deep-seated paranoia after years of fighting creatures of that name. But what he couldn't deny was the sharp splinter of a memory, clear as day, that cut into his mind when he saw that chipped ear.

The sharp _twang_ of Joonmyun's bowstring, the hiss of an arrow cutting through the air, missing it's aim by millimetres. The razor-sharp tip taking out a chunk of Ortag's ear instead of splitting his skull.

Jongin stomach churned at the thought and he heaved.

It couldn't be.

They _had_ taken out Ortag in the final fight.

But Jongin wasn't stupid. He knew that he wasn't seeing things. If Ortag was still alive, he had to alarm the others. And most importantly, he had to get his friends to someplace safe.

Threading back through the crowd, Jongin tried to come up with something to say to them. The buzz, the music, and the laughter around him flooded back into his ears when he broke through the icy surface of his initial shock. It seemed unreal now that the people in this bar kept partying just like before, not knowing that all of their lives were in danger.

'We'll burn everything down.'

He made it to the booth where Taemin, Moonkyu, and Wonshik were waiting impatiently for the drinks Jongin was supposed to bring. The two cards lying face up in front of Taemin and Wonshik indicated that Taemin had won. They had to leave the city, Jongin thought with sharp clarity. If only he could convince them to take a couple of days off, pile themselves into Wonshik's old van and go on a trip to the beach. Or to Jeju-do. It wasn't too cold, even though it was January, right?

Anywhere but here where everything was going to burn, if what the Twisted said came true.

“What took you so long, man? Where are the drinks?” Moonkyu opened his arms wide in protest.

“Yeah, I thought you– Wait, are you okay?” Wonshik furrowed his brow.

Taemin eyed Jongin up and down, and his easy grin turned into a concerned frown. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

A dry sound dislodged itself from Jongin's throat, laughter, but of despair, not of humour. “I have.”

Taemin gave him a puzzled look and pulled him into the chair next to him. “What happened?”

They weren't supposed to know, they were just normal humans. But Taemin had noticed that something was up with Jongin during the period leading up to the previous battle, and being Jongin's closest friend since primary school, he'd made Jongin spill the beans. Jongin had told him about the Wraiths and the Twisted. And the Guardians fighting incessantly to keep them away from any human settlements where they wanted to wreak havoc, sow destruction, and feast on the dead. Of course Taemin hadn't believed him. But then that stupid car crash had happened and Jongin had used his powers to heal Taemin. Sure, he wasn't really allowed to, but he wasn't going to let his best friend be paraplegic. Besides, even when the Organization was still around, no one really had time to enforce the rules.

“Remember two years ago?”

Using vague words like that would make it impossible for his other two friends to understand. Jongin knew that. But surely it was better for them not to know. Safer not to get dragged into this. Blissfully living their lives without the knowledge that some monsters were real. He stared at Taemin trying to convey the weight of his words through his eyes.

Taemin looked at him weirdly but then he gasped.

Jongin nodded. “It's happening again.” He could feel his hands shaking in his lap.

“What's happening?” Moonkyu butted in.

“Do the others know? Have you told Junmyeon?” Taemin asked.

Junmyeon. Pain bloomed in Jongin's chest. He shook his head.

“Well, but aren't you guys going to do that thing you do? You and him were a team. Aren't you going to work with him again? Call him!”

“Uhm, I haven't exactly contacted Junmyeon since... since.”

“So what?”

“I can't! I deleted his number. And Kakaotalk. And Insta. All forms of contact, actually...”

Taemin threw his hands up in frustration at the same time as Moonkyu chimed in. “Who's this Junmyeon? Isn't he... Isn't he that dude you had a crush on? I remember that you were always over at his place. What's going on, seriously?”

“Are you in trouble, Jongin? Someone coming after you? I know a few guys, in case you need someone to beat some bad guysn up. I can call them if you want,” Wonshik offered.

Jongin looked at them. Moonkyu and Wonshik, his closest friends along with Taemin. And Taemin knew what was going on, so didn't the other two deserve to know just as much? If things were going to turn bad, wouldn't they be safer if they knew what they were up against?

He told them.

He talked about the Guardians, people with special powers. His heart began drumming painfully and his voice faltered when he tried to explain that he could feel the life force of all living things around him. His friends were quiet but Jongin could read in their faces that, as expected, they didn't believe him. After all, it sounded too abnormal. No one who was brought up in the rational and science-oriented 21st century could take his words for facts...

But he went on, ignoring the nervous tingling under his skin, and told them about the Wraiths, spirits that appeared in places were – by war or natural catastrophes – many lives had been lost. These invisible spirits sustained themselves on death energy. They were eerie creatures that made you feel creeped out and desolate when you visited places were they amassed. But they couldn't harm the living.

The Twisted could. Feasting on battlefields all over the world, the Wraiths had millions and millions more energy sources than what was natural, delivered to their doorsteps by atrocious modern warfare. Some of them had grown so powerful that they were able to form physical bodies and roam the world, indistinguishable from humans. They were called the Twisted. They were intelligent and malicious, and the only thing they strove after was bringing more death and destruction to sate their ever-growing hunger.

The Twisted usually targeted mega-cities, going by the simple logic that where more people lived, more people would die if they brought their plans to fruition. Why go through the trouble of picking a few lousy, shrivelled berries from a thorn bush if you could harvest a huge tree brimming full with cherries on each twig? And the Twisted were ready to cut down the whole tree in order to devour every last fruit.

Some people had been protecting human settlements in secret ever since, doing their best to drive off or, if possible, kill the Twisted. They were the Guardians, people born with special powers who had the will to fight. A large-scale battle had shaken the community of Guardians in Seoul two years ago.

Mentioning this part made Jongin's throat constrict and tears sting in his eyes. Lives were lost that day. Some of his friends from the Organization hadn't survived. A few were still missing – Jongin refused to believe that Jongdae was dead.

Only the fact that they had defeated the Twisted had been a source of comfort to Jongin, weak, but still. Now, they had to do it all over again, and Jongin was honestly not sure if he could. Had his fallen comrades died in vain? Would it be like that again? Would some Twisted slip through their fingers again this time? And even if not, new Twisted would surely appear sooner or later. It was the never-ending hell of pushing a boulder up a mountain and once you made it all the way up, finding yourself at the foot of the mountain with the boulder again. How many times could you do it until it seemed absolutely impossible to move?

Dejectedly, Jongin knew that he would do it regardless.

They had saved Seoul and all its humans, their pets, wild birds, fish, and forest animals that inhabited the nooks and crannies of the metropolis. Even vermin like rats and bugs didn't deserve to be wiped out just to feed the rampant, twisted things those Wraiths had become.

Jongin couldn't just stand by and do nothing when he had the power to save lives.

“Jongin.”

Wonshik pushed his shoulder gently, and Jongin lifted his head, blinking his welling tears away. His gaze drifted over his friends, the playing cards and empty glasses littered all over their table, the warm glow of the lights in the bar surrounding them. It all seemed so perfectly normal. Oh, how he wished it could just stay that way! His chest constricted.

“You really got into your story there, buddy.”

“Yeah,” Moonkyu nodded, trying to lighten the mood with a joke, “I always knew you were the biggest nerd out of us but I didn't know you got so emotional over tabletop D&D.”

Involuntarily, Jongin laughed a bit and sighed. Of course they thought it was just a story. Only Taemin was pale-faced and silent. Jongin had conjured life force and directed it into Taemin's body to mend his fractured spine after the car crash. Even if he had no proof for the rest of Jongin's story, he had no reason to doubt him, either.

“Anyway, Jongin said that he overheard some whackos say they'll burn down the city.”

Jongin nodded at Taemin's words. If the truth wasn't doing it for Wonshik and Moonkyu, maybe a half-truth would. “Yeah, there was a man I saw at the bar... He's dangerous. I recognized him from– uh, long story, but he's involved with some kind of terrorist group. And he said they're planning an attack.”

“Dude, that's something you should report to the police!”

Wonshik didn't know that the police would be no help in the matter. There was nothing normal humans could do against the Twisted. Although the Twisted had physical bodies, they couldn't be taken out by any regular weapons. They would just kill anyone who got in their way and replenish their strength by sucking the death energy out of their corpses.

But Wonshik meant well, and in order to stick to the story Jongin just smiled weakly.

“I will,” he lied. “But I'm really scared of what they'll do if they're not stopped. Can't you leave the city for a while? Better yet, take your families and go on a vacation. Please? I really want you to be safe.”

“Jonginnie, nothing's gonna happen. Don't freak out.” Moonkyu pulled him against his chest and wrapped his arms around him. “But if it makes you feel better, we're visiting a cousin in Busan, anyway. We'll be well out of harm's way, and if we hear anything on the news, we'll just stay for a couple more days. Good?”

Jongin nodded and hugged him back.

Wonshik also conceded when Jongin's pleading look landed on him next. “Yeah, yeah... My granny will be off on one of those old people sightseeing tours during the Seollal holidays so I might just be able to convince my family to go visit her now.”

Taemin waved his hand, as if shooing Jongin's worries away. “And I'll go skiing in Switzerland or whatever makes you happy. Anyway, guys, Jongin told me earlier that he's made plans to meet up with an old friend later today, so we shouldn't keep him for too long. Let's get going.”

The other two started to pat their pockets for their wallets and grabbed their jackets, but Jongin sat dumbfounded.

“I did? With whom?”

“With Junmyeon, silly. Now get up.” Taemin smiled sweetly.

  
Wonshik stopped in the middle of pulling on his gloves. “Didn't he just say he deleted all of Junmyeon's contacts?”

“Yes, but they're reconnecting,” Taemin said firmly and then shot a glare at Jongin to get him to hurry up. As soon as Jongin had pushed his hands through the sleeves of his jacket, Taemin handed him the neatly stacked playing cards. The Ten of Swords was on top, painted in light blue. Memories of Junmyeon with glowing blades whirling around him popped up in Jongin's head, and he grabbed the deck and shoved it deep into his pocket, banishing the thought along with it.

“Reconnecting, huh.” Moonkyu poked the ticklish spot on Jongin's waist, a skill honed through so many years of teasing his friend that he hit his mark perfectly even with the thick padded of the jacket in the way. “So when you said you'll be 'working with him' earlier, does that mean he's playing that D&D game, too? Or are you still pining after him and hoping to do _other tabletop things_ with him?”

Jongin couldn't help flushing to both ears and was glad for the icy night breeze that awaited them the moment they stepped through the door. Moonkyu laughed loudly before turning towards the nearest subway station, waving. “Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”

Still pouting from embarrassment, Jongin tried to push that feeling aside, and called after Moonkyu. “Be safe! Keep an eye on the news and stay in Busan if they report lots of fires.”

 

2\. Namsan


“You really got us worried, you know,” Wonshik said softly after Moonkyu had descended the stairs and they turned to walk to Wonshik's van.

“But it's not a joke this time.” Jongin looked at him with imploring eyes.

Wonshik nodded. “No matter how you got into this mess, promise me you'll go to the police? If you're involved in something you're not telling us, they might grill you for however you got that information. But if there's really gonna be some kind of terrorist attack and you have important clues, you gotta tell them, you know? You gotta help saving lives.”

“It's...” Jongin pulled up his shoulders and hid his hands in his sleeves, withdrawing into his thick coat not unlike a timid tortoise. But he gave a small nod. “I'll do anything I can to help.”

Wonshik patted the bobble on Jongin's wool hat with a proud smile. “That's our Jonginnie. Hey, Taemin, want a ride?”

“Nah, I'm actually headed the other way.” Taemin pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.

“Okay. Let's meet up again soon, yeah? I'll bring some of granny's winter ginseng tea, you know, the one that warms you up so well. The same we had last year.”

They waved as Wonshik drove off, the memory of spicy ginger tea like a warm aftertaste at the back of Jongin's throat. Then, Taemin turned to Jongin.

“Okay, so where is Junmyeon's apartment?”

“...Huh?”

“Come on, don't tell me you forgot. When you weren't out, covered in grime and dust, fighting Evil, or whatever it is you do, you practically lived at his place. You said you deleted all his contacts and that organization or whatever disbanded, so unless you know how to contact anyone else, we're going to visit him directly.”

“No no no, I can't!” Jongin dug his heels into the ground to resist Taemin who was pulling on his arm. There was no way he could ever face Junmyeon again after what he had done the last time he'd seen him!

Taemin clicked his tongue. “The Twisted didn't say when they're going to attack, right? So it could be tomorrow. Could be in ten years. Could be _today_. The sooner we know, the better! We have no time to waste.”

Taemin was right. But that didn't stop Jongin's insides from twisting up and squirming like a nest of snakes. Feeling sickly, Jongin let himself be pulled towards the subway station and pointed out which stop was closest to Junmyeon's apartment.

“I'm sure he doesn't want to see me,” Jongin mumbled into the collar of his jacket.

Somehow, Taemin still heard him, even through the chatter of other people around them and the rattling noise of the subway train they were on. He gave Jongin a very unimpressed look.

“People really worry about their romantic entanglements when the fate of the world is at stake?”

Jongin pulled up one corner of his mouth in a contrite smile. “Easy for you to say when you've never been in love. Sometimes it feels like there's a whole world at stake, too. And I really brought that one to ruins.”

Taemin softened his tone. “It was just a kiss, so what?”

Just a kiss? For two years, Jongin had shut that memory out as best as possible. But hearing Taemin bring it up felt like the bottom of his heart had been punctured and all the bottled-up regret poured like icy slush over his inner organs.

“So what?!” Jongin repeated in an angry tone. “He didn't react at all. He just stared at me with that pinched face, and I'm sure he hated it, that's what.”

Thinking back, it had been the worst decision of Jongin's entire life to take Junmyeon's hand right there in the middle of the carnage when they had just cut down the last foe, pull him up onto his unsteady feet, and capture his lips in an unmistakable kiss.

He hadn't even given Junmyeon the slightest hint in all the months leading up to that moment. They had spent almost all of their time together, training, chasing after the Twisted, discussing strategies with the Organization, even resting, in those rare moments of quiet that they had had... and Jongin had kept his feelings carefully, carefully locked inside his heart. But then that fated, _damned_ day had happened. Jongin had felt too keenly that they could have died on that last battlefield, and he was high on adrenaline, feeling like his veins were pulsing with pure life force rather than blood. Without thinking, he'd done the only stupid thing he would never forgive himself.

On top of being completely inappropriate in those circumstances, it had also overstepped a lot of personal boundaries in general.

No wonder Junmyeon hated him for it.

Being Guardian partners with a broken team bond already felt like half of his heart had been carved out of his chest. But – worse – it had cost their friendship, and it all came crashing down on Jongin now.

Walking up the stairs from the subway station towards Junmyeon's apartment building became harder with each step he took. It felt like his past mistake was an immovable pole behind him and Jongin was tied to it with a thick rubber band around his waist. The further he tried to walk towards the person he'd been in love with the more the band stretched and the harder it pulled him back.

Taemin looked at him, noticing his steps slowing down as he strained against the invisible power. Jongin couldn't help it. With one more step he was at his limit. His hands were shaking and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I can't!”

He turned around and ran. Taemin followed him with a quick step and grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“Jongin, what the heck?”

Jongin struggled to break free. “I can't do this! I have to– We don't know anything about the plan yet. I have to find out more. There's no point in talking to Junmyeon first.”

“Yes, there is. We have to gather everyone! And Junmyeon is where we start.”

Jongin shook his head wildly and increased his struggles.

If Taemin wanted to avoid having his nose bashed in by his uncontrollably thrashing friend, he had to release him.

  
“I can't!”

“Where are you going?”

“Namsan!” Jongin's voice was a tangle of panic. Pitying him, Taemin decided to let go of him.

“Namsan? Why? Wrong time for sightseeing, don't you think?”

“The–” Jongin swallowed and gave Taemin a pained look, apology and plea for understanding all mixed together. “The trees there are kind. I need to–”

An unexpected laugh escaped Taemin's throat. He had never really understood how Jongin's powers worked but he had definitely not expected it to involve talking to trees. Well, it probably didn't, but that was the picture that sprang into his mind when he heard Jongin's words.

Still, it seemed important. If Taemin had thought Jongin was only running away, he would've dragged him by the collar with his own two hands, but there seemed to be some method to his madness.

“Do whatever you have to.”

Jongin ran.

“Hey, wait, what's Junmyeon's address?”

A gust of wind blew from the subway tunnels and carried Jongin's answer perfectly to Taemin's ears, even though Jongin himself had already sprinted down the stairs. Taemin set out to the designated building. He could at least check if Junmyeon was still living there.

Junmyeon did. Well, his name was still on the door.

Alright then, Taemin might as well ring the doorbell and see if he was home.

Opening the door was a young man, about a head shorter but a bit older than Taemin. There was no mistaking him, Taemin had seen him at Jongin's side so many times, and his round, youthful face had barely changed in the past two years.

“Hello, Junmyeon. How are you?”

“Taemin! Haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been? No need to be so formal, come on in.” Junmyeon opened the door wide to let Taemin inside and glanced up and down the corridor as if he was expecting more visitors. “Where's Jongin? Is he okay?”

Taemin almost laughed but he kept himself in check. Figures Junmyeon would expect his visit to have something to do with Jongin. Taemin himself wasn't very close with Junmyeon, only by proxy of being friends with Jongin. But, okay, since Junmyeon had asked, Taemin could cut to the chase. He told Junmyeon what Jongin had overheard at the bar.

Junmyeon's face paled but even before Taemin finished speaking he set his jaw into a hard line of determination.

“If that's true, we have to round up every Guardian we can find. We need all eyes and ears we can get, and we have to be extremely vigilant until we find out what exactly the Twisted are planning, and when. Here, please put as many of these on my keyring as possible. I'll be right back.”

Junmyeon took a straw basket out of a cabinet by the door and shoved it at Taemin together with his keys.

The basket was full of long, thin strips of paper, one end tied to a looped piece of string. There was nothing written on them to give away what they were used for, and Taemin had no clue if they were magical amulets or what other purpose they could possibly serve. But Junmyeon seemed to need them, so Taemin did as he was told and attached as many as he could to the keyring until Junmyeon returned from his room. He had changed out of his comfortable track suit into cargo pants and combat boots and a t-shirt with a leather jacket over it, the durable-looking type that professional motorcycle racers wore.

Jut like that, the small, rather boring and soft-looking man had turned into someone Taemin could imagine as a fighter.

“Thank you,” Junmyeon said and grabbed the keyring from Taemin, now rustling with thirty or more strips of paper. He motioned for Taemin to follow him as they hurried out of the apartment and to an underground parking lot behind the building.

“Now, Jongin, where is he? You said you were hanging out at a bar. Where is he now? Did he tell you where he went?”

“Namsan.”

“Why Namsan?” Junmyeon gave Taemin a frown as he climbed into his car. Taemin got in the passenger seat, and Junmyeon started driving.

“Wouldn't you know the answer better? To me it sounded like he was going all Disney princess.”

“What?”

“I don't know, singing with the birds, talking to the wild beasts?”

“Jongin is a _Conjurer_ ,” Junmyeon emphasized, and his tone was filled with indignation as if Taemin comparing his friend to a Disney princess had been a grave insult. Calling him 'Conjurer' still didn't give Taemin a more tangible idea of how Jongin's powers actually worked but Junmyeon had sounded so displeased that Taemin figured it was no use asking for clarification.

Junmyeon glared through the windshield, going hard at speed limit.

Taemin held his tongue for a while but got bored as they sped over a broad, modern bridge spanning the Han river. Letting his curiosity get the better of him even if it made him sound like a child, he asked. “Where are we going?”

“What? Namsan, of course.”

  
“What the hell is in Namsan?” Taemin exploded. “Jongin has some business there. Now we're going, as well. Is everyone at fucking Namsan? Do you have your secret organization headquarters there, or what? I thought we were going to contact the other Guardians as fast as possible!”

“We are,” Junmyeon said without taking his eyes off the road, only a little curt after Taemin's outburst. “And I have to see Jongin first.”

“Why?” Taemin tore at his hair.

“Because he's my team partner.”

“What's the big deal with that? Is it, like, some holy bond of marriage for Guardians?”

Junmyeon scoffed, and the leather of his jacket squeaked as he shoulder-checked before changing lanes.

“It's nothing like that but it is a pretty big deal. You can only be team partners with someone you know so well that you can predict their every move in combat. You fight like one person, perfectly harmonized, except better because you complete in the other person what they lack. Your lives depend on each other. You must trust them completely but also feel deeply protective of them. And when they're gone, it feels like half of yourself is missing.”

“Oh...” Taemin couldn't help gaping at Junmyeon in amazement.

Even though Junmyeon's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, Taemin could see a fire glowing in them. He understood that it was something he couldn't just joke about so he fell silent again as they took the winding street up Namsan and parked the car in a parking lot for visitors. Junmyeon slammed the door shut and dashed ahead, sprinting up the many flights of stairs leading to Namsan Tower. Taemin only managed to follow right behind thanks to his light feet and long legs, using his phone's flashlight to illuminate the path.

It had to be way past midnight but there were still quite a few nighttime visitors on the hiking trail and on the small square at the foot of the brightly lit TV Tower.

Junmyeon stopped in the middle of the square and turned slowly in his spot, looking around as if he expected to find Jongin right there.

Taemin leaned forward with his palms on his knees, panting. “Is he here? He said 'trees' so I thought he'd be somewhere in the forest.”

He gestured at all the vegetation growing on the slopes of the mountain around them, deciduous trees whose leaves covered the ground in a thick layer and pine trees which stuck their shivering and frosted needles in the air. It was not quite dark between the tree trunks, as light pollution reflected off of a deep-hanging layer of clouds, steeping everything in a slightly orange twilight.

“I don't–”

Before Junmyeon could finish his sentence, someone jumped on his back, wrapping arms and legs around him in an exuberant hug. “Junmyeon!”

Junmyeon staggered from the impact but laughed and pried the other man off his back as soon as he got his bearings. “Baekhyun! How have you been? Taemin, come say hi. This is Baekhyun. He's a fire demon.”

A fire demon. Oh, sure. Taemin snorted. But he did see a slightly unnerving glow emanating from behind Baekhyun's eyeballs and from inside his mouth and nostrils, as if there was a furnace somewhere inside of his skull. Surreptitiously, Taemin tried to glance behind him to see if Baekhyun had a forked tail like some demons in old illustrations but that was not the case.

“Where's Minseok?” Junmyeon asked, but a moment later his gaze lifted over Baekhyun's shoulder and his smile broadened. “Ah, there he is. Minseok-hyung!”

Taemin saw another man approaching, slightly smaller than Junmyeon and, if possible, even more round-cheeked. But his eyes were sharp like a cat's, and the lines of his mouth were more mischievous. He'd probably look very cheeky if he were smiling, but right now he seemed to be seething with anger.

He approached Baekhyun – and slapped the back of his hand across his cheek. Baekhyun's head turned from the force of the strike, and Taemin could see a glowing bruise on his cheek, like a hand-print of lava where he'd been hit. The fiery glow faded quickly back to normal human-looking skin but Taemin was stunned nonetheless.

“I forbade you to engage. Begone!” Minseok roared and formed some kind of seal with his fingers, shoving them palms out towards Baekhyun. The fire demon struggled against the harsh black wind that wrapped around him, but in the end he was enveloped fully and vanished.

“Minseok-hyung, wha–”

Minseok shoved past Junmyeon without meeting his eyes and ran down the stairs. Junmyeon stared, rooted to the spot, not even thinking of pursuit. He had a look of concern on his face and needed a while to gather his wits, shaking his head slightly, before he finally turned to Taemin.

“That... was Minseok. He's a Guardian. A Demonlord.” A deep frown was creasing Junmyeon's brows. “He's always been fierce, otherwise he wouldn't be able to control Baekhyun, but... I've never seen him acting like that. Like, _malicious_. He treasures Baekhyun.”

Taemin blinked slowly. This was all beginning to be a bit much to take in. Being magically healed after a car crash once was one thing, but murderous ghosts, demon boys, and apparently dysfunctional secret societies of superpowered humans? Were they even human? Taemin's head was buzzing slightly as he eyed Junmyeon. The most magical thing in his life up until now had been the toast popping out of his toaster in the mornings.

He heard a twig crack and whirled around, peering into the forest. Wasn't there a human shape? Yes, someone was moving towards them.

Taemin had seen his fair share of horror movies, and his heart froze in shock as images of zombies and weird, faceless creatures reappeared from his memories.

'Don't blink,' he told himself, staggering back. 'If you blink, they pop up right in front of you!'

The shadow drew closer. Something seemed familiar about the way it moved. But Taemin didn't know anybody who had such blindingly white hair and was too scared to think.

“Jongin!” Junmyeon shouted, voice choked with emotions.

Taemin whirled around, gaping at the other man. The petrifying grip of fear lifted from him. Still apprehensive, though, he watched Junmyeon step off the paved path down into rustling leaves, approaching the white-haired person slowly. Taemin held his breath, half expecting the person to bolt like a spooked deer.

It couldn't be Jongin.

And yet, he did seem familiar. Taemin saw him clenching his hand over his chest and hiding behind the stem of a young birch tree, before deciding to face Junmyeon.

A breeze picked up, rustling bare branches and lifting a veil of clouds from the moon. Silver light shone on Junmyeon's outstretched hand, and Jongin drew back from him, an unreadable expression on his face. It _was_ Jongin, Taemin could see it now. Illuminated by the moonlight, he recognized Jongin's face and the guarded tension in his shoulders that he always got when he withdrew into his shell.

“I haven't seen you in so long.” Junmyeon's voice carried softly on the breeze, laced with a hint of pain.

“Hyung,” Jongin said finally, just one word lost in the vastness of the night around them, just a small movement of his lips as the syllable dropped from them. And apart from that he remained stock-still.

Junmyeon sighed quietly and dropped his hand. Jongin could get like that sometimes. He had told Junmyeon once that it wasn't easy to reconnect with his normal five human senses after coming out of his conjuring meditation. He disliked physical touch the most in those moments as it disoriented him, and Junmyeon respected that, no matter how much he'd like to hug Jongin right now.

He had really missed Jongin so much, not just because of the team bond that gave frequent pangs of neglect in his chest, but also because Jongin had been a friend he'd loved very much. Be that as it may, now was not the time.

“Taemin told me you're here,” Junmyeon said, hoping that the familiar name would ground Jongin in the ordinary human world. Jongin's eyes connected with Junmyeon's briefly, the striking red in them as surreal as ever. His gaze swam a little but it soon found Taemin and became more focused.

Jongin ducked his head and stepped around Junmyeon to join Taemin on the path. Junmyeon would be lying if he said it didn't hurt a little. But he understood that Jongin couldn't just fall back into the way they'd been before those two years of radio silence. Especially considering the unsaid things between them... They should probably talk about them soon, if they had any hopes of knitting their team back together.

Junmyeon stepped back onto the path where the other two were waiting.

Jongin even let Taemin ruffle through his white hair.

He shrunk a little, but he allowed it, peeking up at Taemin with hunched up shoulders like a snail retreating into its shell when its horns were touched. Junmyeon clenched his fist. Jongin should stand proud and strong when he was brimming with the life force he had conjured! And Taemin shouldn't touch him like that!

“Come on now, let's get back to my car. We have to contact the other Guardians,” Junmyeon called and strode past them, descending the stairs at a brisk pace. He could hear their hurried footsteps behind him and the conversation they held while walking.

“You've really gone full Avatar state, huh?” Taemin asked. He had looked quite out of his depths when Jongin first appeared between the trees, but now he was already back to teasing his friend lightly.

“Don't call it that!” Jongin whined.

“But your hair is glowing. Can you master the elements now? Do you cast spells and stuff? Will your eyes start glowing, too? They're so freaking red right now. They're the real deal, not contacts, right?”

Jongin's adorable half-whine-half-laughter rang out in the wintry night.

“Shut up.” A muffled smack resounded as Jongin hit Taemin's arm, covered in his thick winter jacket, and Taemin snickered.

“Well, I don't know! Explain it to me.”

“Fine, but don't joke about it. I wouldn't mind if it's just me, but it feels like you're making fun of all the living things around you. It's their power, after all. They lend me– How to describe–? I can feel them and connect with them somehow, and they give me their surplus energy.”

“What, they _give_ you–?”

“No, they don't _hand_ me things like, you know, a feather or an apple. It's hard to explain. It's not a physical transaction. I just... I just feel their life force accumulate inside of me. It feels like a glowing orb of energy somewhere inside my chest, and I know it's a present from them. I can tell that it's not my own energy, you know? They fill it up and I can use it for things like healing until it's drained empty. Well, fighting, too, but healing comes much more easily. I guess because it's _life_ force.”

Jongin paused, and his clothes rustled as if he shrugged, but Junmyeon didn't turn around to look. He focused his gaze on the stairs and took two at a time. Jongin's voice still sounded exactly like it had two years ago, and it made Junmyeon's chest ache.

“So your hair is white now?” Taemin asked.

“It only gets like that when...” Jongin trailed off, struggling to find the right words. Junmyeon itched to help him but he didn't want to join their conversation and reveal that he'd been listening the whole time. But they were already at the parking lot; maybe he could pretend he caught the tail end by chance.

Just as Junmyeon was about to open his mouth, Jongin explained. “If I were a battery, I'd be one hundred percent charged right now. Only then. And it gradually fades back to normal as I go and use up the power.”

In a small voice, Jongin added. “It looks weird. I don't really like it.”

Junmyeon stopped and turned around, making to grab Jongin's shoulders and shake this nonsense out of him. But of course he didn't. It just hurt to hear Jongin talk like that. He had a tendency to be self-conscious and overly humble when he had every right to be confident in his terrifyingly beautiful looks and his unique powers.

“It looks so cool,” Taemin babbled on. “But, a hundred percent? How did you get that much life force when everything's kinda dead right now?” He gestured to the winter-bare trees on the hillside.

“Not dead. Most life is dormant in winter. But it's condensed and strong. It's preparing to... to make buds and babies and grow new things in spring. They do have less to spare in winter but what they can give is so powerful. And they gave me a lot. To protect them. They're scared, but they don't know what exactly they're scared of.” At these last words, Jongin turned to face Junmyeon.

Junmyeon knew that serious look. He nodded, all business.

He might still begrudge Taemin his easy closeness with Jongin, and he might still be anxious to ask Jongin where they stood now, if he still wanted to be Junmyeon's team partner, if they were even friends anymore. But now was not the time for that. No, they had a city to save first.

Pushing a button on his keys, the car doors unlocked with a _beep_.

“Get in, you two. That is, if you want to come with us, Taemin. You're not a Guardian but you've already heard so much, and Jongin trusts you. And you haven't freaked out yet or gotten us locked away.” Junmyeon laughed flatly. “So it's really up to you. I don't mind at this point. I can drop you off somewhere, if that's what you prefer. We're going to Kyungsoo's next; he lives closest from here, and I think he still maintains quite a few connections.”

III. Han River

“I'm coming with you,” Taemin said firmly and got in the car, choosing the backseat.

“Okay. Just promise that if we have to fight, you stay out of it and keep yourself safe. That's important, do you understand?” Junmyeon stressed after taking his seat behind the steering wheel. He twisted his upper body around so he could fix Taemin with a stern look that he hoped conveyed how serious this was. “Humans without powers can't harm the things we're up against. Don't. Try.”

“Really don't,” Jongin said.

He got in the other backseat of the car, the one behind the driver's seat. Oddly, it made Junmyeon jittery. Jongin always used to sit in the front seat beside Junmyeon. In the seat behind him, he was just as close if not physically closer, but at the same time pointedly distant. Junmyeon focused on the traffic and tried not to think about it. Whether they had drifted apart beyond repair. And whether Jongin realized that his fingertips were pressing firmly against Junmyeon's shoulder as he held on to the top of the seat while talking to Taemin.

Junmyeon was fiddling with the radio when Jongin exclaimed suddenly, sitting bolt upright. “Hyung, I have to talk to Han!”

“Lu Han?” Taemin asked. “Your childhood friend?”

Junmyeon made a sharp turn onto a smaller road leading to Banpo Hangang Park. They had just crossed the bridge, and Junmyeon understood which 'Han' Jongin was talking about.

“No, the river Han,” Jongin told Taemin. “She didn't let me connect with her when I was at Namsan but she's always been elusive and wants me to come to her directly.”

“ _She_?” Taemin's disbelief resounded clearly in his voice.

Junmyeon smiled to himself, secretly pleased that he knew all of these things that were new and absurd to Taemin.

“It's not really...” Jongin hummed in thought, then sighed and started at the beginning.

“Mountains and rivers and lakes and so on are obviously not living creatures. But some have been around humans for so long that they've formed a sort of consciousness. There's something similar to life force in them. I can't conjure them but I can connect to them. Uh, to a certain degree. They're difficult to understand. But I think the Han river refers to herself as something comparable to female.”

Taemin fell into a long, hysterical laughing fit. He ended with a deep sigh of defeat and sunk into his seat. “Wow. Lady of the Lake, huh?”

As soon as they parked the car, Jongin got out and strode towards the park. Just a few steps, though, and he stopped and turned around, looking at Junmyeon like he was about to say something. His eyes glowed an unearthly red under the street lantern but the rest of his features looked as gentle as Junmyeon remembered them.

In the end, Jongin closed his mouth, turned back around and hurried across the wide grassy field.

A smile formed naturally on Junmyeon's face as he followed him. Of course he was curious about what Jongin had been debating to tell him. But mostly he was just glad that Jongin had looked at him. Jongin had spent most of the time since their reunion avoiding Junmyeon's gaze. Now every time he did look at Junmyeon it felt like a precious gift. They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone... Junmyeon still remembered how grateful he'd been for Jongin's focused gaze on him when he spoke in front of other Guardians, trying to be heard over a jumble of voices that made him feel like none of the others were listening to him. But even then he hadn't realized how much he craved Jongin's attention.

Deep in his musings, Junmyeon hadn't noticed that they had already reached the riverside. In front of them was an area covered in two-metres tall yellow reeds, and Junmyeon could already hear the lapping sound of small waves. A path made from wooden planks curved through the reeds and invited visitors on a stroll along the edge of the river.

A group of people clad in business attire stood some distance away on the path. Junmyeon found them odd but he figured maybe they'd been drinking after work and went out for some fresh air. He turned back to look at Jongin who had knelt down and was drawing random swirls in the water.

Jongin waited, frowned when nothing happened, and looked up at Junmyeon with a pout.

  
“Where are the bubble children?”

And that was when it clicked in Junmyeon's mind.

  
“Shield!” He yelled at Jongin.

In a split-second reaction, Jongin pulled up a translucent energy shield just in time to hear something clatter against it.

The group of people was running towards them, not as human as they had appeared. Their black business clothes were just an illusion, and from somewhere in their chests they shot pale shards at them.

“Twisted! Taemin, get behind me!” Jongin shouted and covered his friend with his protective energy shield while Junmyeon dashed forward to counter-attack. He held his keyring in his hand and ripped a strip of paper from it. Between his fingers, it turned into a small throwing knife which he aimed at the first attacker. Running and dodging, he kept ripping strips of paper off his keyring and flung them as blades at the Twisted. One was hit in the throat and its body convulsed, crackling while folding like a soda can, and then it vanished into a small wisp of dirty fog.

The others roared and charged towards Junmyeon. Jongin had to give up his shield for a moment to push a wave of energy towards them, throwing them back while Junmyeon dashed to safety. Taemin cowered by the side of the path, trying not to be in the way of any flying projectiles. Jongin and Junmyeon managed to take out the Twisted pretty soon, but Junmyeon was limping when they came back to meet Taemin.

Taemin looked like he was in shock but otherwise unharmed so Jongin decided that Junmyeon's wound took priority.

Jongin knelt in front of Junmyeon and held his leg carefully to keep him still. He fought down an inappropriate blush as he widened the rip in Junmyeon's cargo pants to access the spot right in the centre of his thigh where one of the shards had hit him, still sticking out of his bleeding leg.

These shards looked an awful lot like bone splinters, and Jongin was loathe to touch them but he had no choice.

“Sorry, this might hurt,” he mumbled, avoiding Junmyeon's gaze as he pinched the shard between his fingers and pulled it out of Junmyeon's leg. Junmyeon grunted, making Jongin feel really sorry. But now that the wound was clean, he could easily heal it. He placed his palm as softly as possible over the damaged skin and let his healing energy flow. Under a flash of white light, the tissue mended quickly.

When he felt a hand in his hair, he looked up, and Junmyeon pulled his hand away quickly but dropped it again to Jongin's shoulder, rubbing a silent 'thank you' with his thumb. Jongin's heartbeat doubled in speed, and he got to his feet, brushing dirt off his knees and tugging his sleeves down over his hands, busying himself with anything he could find to hide how ridiculously flustered he was. He wished he was still wearing his bobble hat so he could pull it deeply over his ears. But he couldn't remember where he lost it. He only remembered that he had worn it when he'd exited the bar which already felt like a lifetime ago.

“Uh,” came Taemin's voice, barely a croak, “I know what you mean now. About this being dangerous. Guess me sticking around really isn't the best idea.”

“Just don't run away right now,” Junmyeon said with a small smile on his lips. “We're safe at the moment, and it's best if you wait for a while until we're done here. I'll take you back in my car, how does that sound?”

“Good. Sure. I'll just sit down for a minute.”

“Yeah, we're safe.” Jongin smiled and pointed at the edge of the water. “The bubble children are back.”

He crouched down and cupped his hands in the water, laughing when several bubbles formed that tumbled over his fingers and wrists, playing like puppies. A faint sound of splashing and laughter seemed to come from them, and their movements over Jongin's skin tickled him. He laughed happily. He had always liked bubble children but they dashed away at the slightest sense of danger, like frogs jumping into a pond.

“Could you tell me where your mummy is? I need to talk to the river goddess.”

The faint laughter and squeals grew a little louder as the bubbles moved to Jongin's fingertips, still playfully tumbling but hurrying up a bit now. They hopped back into the water, and right afterwards a huge wave came splashing towards Jongin. He stood still, although this moment was always a bit scary. The wave enveloped him like a giant's translucent hand and then stayed frozen in time. Inside of its grip, Jongin was kept completely dry. He didn't have to speak because Han already knew what he was here to ask.

And she answered.

A flood of images washed through Jongin's mind, overwhelming him and leaving him gasping for air. He tried to grip onto his consciousness like a drowning man clinging to a log as he was pulled through the roaring current of the river's cacophony. An oil tanker going upstream from Ganghwado. The riverbed in Seoul reduced to a cracking desert strewn with cadavers of fish and birds, only a small, stinking, black bog remaining at the bottom. And fire in the city, street after street set ablaze in the wake of a demon and his lord running amok, no water reserves enough to save the millions of lives.

'When?' Jongin shouted desperately over the roaring in his mind, as tears poured from his eyes.

And the next image took him out of his own body, so that he could see himself and his two friends standing at the edge of the Han, bird's eye view soaring higher until Jongin felt his throat raw from screaming and the river was just a dark ribbon in an orange glowing spiderweb of city lights, and a small steel-coloured thing close to Ganghwado was the oil tanker.

Han let Jongin snap back into his own body and retracted her hand, the wave merging back into the water of the river as if it moved back in time.

Jongin fell down as he was released, knees too weak to keep himself up. He could only lie shaking on the ground when Junmyeon and Taemin rushed to him to help him up into a sitting position, holding him. Junmyeon wiped the tear streaks off his face. Jongin gasped through his sobs, unable to speak for a while until he calmed down.

“Han knew what the Twisted are planning?”

“Yes,” Jongin drew a shaking breath and wiped the new tears that spilled from his eyes with his own hands. “They're moving an oil tanker up the river. They're planning to cause an oil spill and kill the river. Then they'll burn Seoul down. They've got Minseok and Baekhyun under their control.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Not long. A few hours only. Han will send stronger currents to slow them down but they're already passing Ganghwado.”

“A few hours?!” Junmyeon gritted his teeth. “Can you stand?”

Jongin nodded and snuffled, getting onto his feet. He was still a little unsteady, so he accepted Junmyeon and Taemin's help, propping him up on either side as they made their way back to the car.

“We must be quite the sight...” Jongin said in a valiant effort to joke, but he knew it fell flat, his own smile a little watery.

Junmyeon bumped him gently, making Jongin feel that his effort was appreciated. “Speak for yourself. You healed me; _I'm_ as good as new.”

“I'm fine, too.” Taemin piped up. “Though I'm beginning to think a beach vacation sounds really good right now. And I wouldn't say no if you offered to heal that scare the damned Twisted gave me, attacking us out of nowhere!”

“Sorry, I can only heal physical wounds,” Jongin explained. This was a serious matter, and he knew that his deep-seated regret was audible in the tone of his voice. “Mental wounds have to heal on their own.”

They brought Taemin to the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal which was only a few minutes away from Banpo Hangang Park. Taemin insisted that he wanted to go leave Seoul right now, and busses to all kinds of destinations ran even during the night. Jongin didn't like how little planning Taemin put into his decision to hop on the next bus to Eurwangni Beach, but Taemin said he didn't need anything except for his cell phone and his credit card. What could go wrong? And when he argued that the longer he stayed, the closer the oil tanker was inching towards Seoul, Jongin nodded and let him go, hugging him tightly.

“Don't you dare look at me like we might never see each other again, asshole!” Taemin called and waved them goodbye with a crooked grin. “I'll even let you win at Tiger Hunt next time.”

Jongin remembered the deck of playing cards that was still in his coat pocket. Back in the car, Jongin fished them out and leafed through them as Junmyeon pulled onto one of the main streets again. A few cards had gotten bent but all in all they were still in relatively good condition. He picked out the Eight of Swords and the Eight of Blossoms, running his thumbs over their slightly worn edges.

“Hyung,” he said, keeping his gaze lowered to the cards. He knew his voice had to be difficult to hear over the hum of the car engine and the sound of traffic, half hoping that Junmyeon hadn't caught it.

“Yes?” Junmyeon prompted, though. His voice held a gentle tone that he used exclusively with Jongin when he knew he wanted to talk about something that weighed him down.

Suddenly Jongin felt like crying. Junmyeon could still read him like that. And Junmyeon still treated him with the same kindness as ever. How stupid had he been to shut Junmyeon out of his life for two whole, painful years! Had he really believed that Junmyeon would hate him? Even if his actions had been foolish and unwanted, how could he have doubted that Junmyeon's heart would forgive him easily?

“Don't you want to tell me before we reach Kyungsoo's place?” Junmyeon prodded softly and gave Jongin's lower arm an encouraging squeeze when they stopped at a red traffic light.

Jongin was sure that Junmyeon already knew what he wanted to talk about. After all, everything was fine between them except for that kiss incident.

When the car move forward, entering the quieter streets of a residential area with huge apartment blocks, Junmyeon kept his gaze forward. Jongin settled in the corner between the passenger seat and the car door, resting his forehead against the cool window pane. Safe and warm in Junmyeon's car, he was beginning to feel drowsy. Good. This conversation would only be possible if he lowered his guard a little.

He simply had to say it, right? Some things were only scary as long as they remained unspoken.

“Hyung, I'm sorry that I kissed you back then. I realize that it was totally out of place.” Jongin's breath fogged the window. He wiped it off and watched it fog over again with his next exhale. Fogged, clear, fogged, clear, like a slow metronome.

Junmyeon waited for a while, giving Jongin the chance to add more if he wanted to. His gaze stayed fixed on the road, giving Jongin space to sort out his thoughts. Yet Jongin didn't want to play it off as a mistake. Neither did he want to explain why he'd done it. He just kept breathing against the window pane.

“Oh Jongin... it's alright.”

Junmyeon's soft words made something unfurl in Jongin's chest. Only in the very moment that it subsided did Jongin realize how long he had been carrying the ache around with him. He plucked his forehead off the window and finally found it easy to look at Junmyeon.

“I'm sorry for breaking off all contact with you. It was immature of me and it wasn't fair to you.”

“I was hoping I'd run into you again one day.” Junmyeon threw a glance over at him, and Jongin's lungs clenched when he saw that Junmyeon's small smile was laced with pain. He had really mistreated Junmyeon in more ways than one. “I did miss you.”

Thinking that he didn't deserve so much sweetness, but enjoying the feeling nonetheless, Jongin admitted in a small voice. “I missed you, too. ...But, I–”

 _I wasn't ready_ , Jongin didn't say. Because that would basically be him admitting that the kiss wasn't just a short circuit in his brain but that he'd had feelings for Junmyeon that took him a long time to get over.

And therein lay the problem. He wasn't over his feelings at all. The moment he'd seen Junmyeon on the stairs to Namsan Tower, his heart had jumped into his throat and refused to leave. It threatened to spill out with every word he said to Junmyeon, but he tried his best to keep it down. He could ignore it until it went away, and he believed he'd done a pretty good job so far.

They parked on the curb and took a couple of stairs up to the entrance door of Kyungsoo's apartment building, Jongin following behind Junmyeon.

“Wait, hyung,” Jongin called, just before Junmyeon rang the buzzer, making him stop.

Jongin bit his lip. “We're– In the park, you know, when we fought the Twisted. We still make a good team, don't we?”

“Yes, we do. I couldn't fight better with anyone else.”

There it was, Jongin's heart, lodged in his throat and pounding strongly. He tried to gulp it down, convinced that his voice would come out weird when he asked.

“And... are– are we still friends?”

Junmyeon turned around and stepped forward so that Jongin had to take one step back down the stairs, making them stand perfectly eye-level to each other. Junmyeon's fingertips brushed along Jongin's cheek, so warm and soft against his frost-bitten skin that he flinched back. And right afterwards, he tried to release his awkwardness with a breathy chuckle.

Junmyeon said. “Of course we are. If that's what you want to.”

Something enigmatic was playing in Junmyeon's smile but Jongin didn't dwell on it, choosing to take the positive answer for what it was. Happily he clung to Junmyeon's arm on the elevator ride up, avoiding his own reflection in the mirrored wall because had to look silly wearing such a giddy grin.

 

3\. Swords


Kyungsoo was clad in nothing but a black shirt, black boxers and his thick-framed glasses when he opened the door. His hair was a mess on his head, and he had a murderous look in his eyes. After all, it was past three in the middle of the night. Behind him appeared a tall, somewhat older but very handsome man Jongin had never seen before.

Neither had Junmyeon, apparently. He choked a little in surprise, getting very flustered as he hastily apologized. “Sorry to disturb you!” He coughed awkwardly. “We wouldn't have bothered you at such a time in the night but it's an emergency–”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Whatever you're thinking, stop. This is Jo Insung, my life partner. Platonically. He knows about the Organization and all that stuff, which is what I assume this is about when two Guardians wake me up at fuck-ass o'clock. So what's this emergency?”

“Hi, Kyungsoo.” Jongin waved shyly from behind Junmyeon's back.

Junmyeon gave Kyungsoo a run-down of what they had found out.

In an instant, Kyungsoo changed to a wide awake and way more polite state. “So we're rounding up all the active members, intercept the ship before they spill the oil, and fight off the Twisted?”

“Exactly.”

Kyungsoo gave a nod and was about to move, but Insung placed a hand on his shoulder and stepped forward. His brows were knitted. “There's one thing that doesn't makes sense. It can't be an oil tanker. Large-size vessels aren't permitted on the Han river. And if I'm informed correctly, the riverbed along the North Korean border hasn't been dredged. The whole estuary should be _impossible_ to navigate for ships with too deep a draft. They'd run aground or get stuck in the mud.”

“I'm aware,” Junmyeon said curtly. “But we don't even know what these Twisted can do. If Jongin says it's an oil tanker, then I believe it, no matter how impossible it sounds.”

Grateful that Junmyeon believed in him firmly, Jongin reached for Junmyeon's hand but didn't dare to squeeze it in front of anyone else, so he just brushed it with his fingers.

Insung shrugged and looked at Kyungsoo. The two communicated with their eyes, and soon Kyungsoo turned to Junmyeon. “Better check it out. I'll be ready in a few minutes. I'd invite you inside but it's pointless 'cause we have no time to waste.”

The two men started running back and forth in the apartment, Insung gathering Kyungsoo's things while Kyungsoo got ready.

Jongin and Junmyeon exchanged amused glances as they heard Kyungsoo shouting.

“Hyung, give me my black bag, please!”

“Which one? All your bags are black.”

“The one I normally don't take. Yes, that one, perfect, thank you.”

In no time, they appeared at the door again, Kyungsoo now wearing thick jeans and a black down jacket, a black fanny pack clipped over one shoulder and under the opposite arm.

“Take care,” Insung said and reached on a high shelf to fetch a heat pack which he shoved in Kyungsoo's jacket pocket. Kyungsoo turned back around to him before he left, and they enveloped each other in a long hug.

Jongin could feel his ears heating up while this intimate scene unfolded in front of them. He forced his head not to turn to Junmyeon as he wondered how nice it would be to have a platonic relationship like that.

Next they went to pick up Chanyeol but he refused to come, saying he'd settled down when his wife got pregnant. But he was able to share important news on some of the former Organization members. Yixing had joined an Organization in the U.S. And Sehun and Boa-sunbaenim had gotten married and moved to Japan. Chanyeol basked in their surprised exclamations when he relayed their story. Jongin was happy for the newlyweds but at the same time he shared Junmyeon's worries whose face was covered in dark storm clouds as he realized that three of their best fighters wouldn't be with them.

Chanyeol was able to add one valuable contact to their list, though. It was someone he'd met by chance at an open mike night.

“He's a nasty fighter. He never cared for the Organization so I doubt any of you have met him before. Story goes he's the best maverick of Korea. He can take out over two dozen Twisted all by himself. You'll be glad to have him on your side if you can convince him to join you.”

They found the man Chanyeol had described at a pool table in a dingy club. He was wearing a spiked leather jacket, but he was so tiny and round-faced with small sleepy eyes that they almost mistook him for a high-school delinquent. He talked like a high-school delinquent, too, when he sensed their doubt in him.

“You think I can't fight, huh? I'll show you who can't fight!” He growled and threw a fist towards them.

Jongin jumped back in shock. The man's arm elongated, turning into a ridged blade of dull grey colour, like a stack of shark fins. It shot out, stopping just a centimetre shy of Junmyeon's nose, then retracted and turned back into Yoongi's normal skin-coloured fist.

“Yoongi. Morphblade,” he introduced himself smugly. “I fight alone, but this time you'll damned well need my help. Not that I care much, but what can you guys do, anyway?”

“Kyungsoo. Telecompressor.”

Yoongi snorted. “That's the stupidest name I've ever heard.”

Kyungsoo's smile was dripping sweet. “Will you still find it stupid when I crush you to the size of a peanut with my mind?”

Junmyeon stepped forward and introduced himself. “My name is Junmyeon. I'm a Weaponmaster. I can turn any object into a weapon and I'm pretty good at all armed martial arts. I prefer long-range weapons, though.”

“D'you expect me to take notes, Mr. Professor? And you, red-eyed freak?”

“I'm Jongin. Conjurer,” Jongin said meekly, at the same time as Junmyeon hissed at Yoongi. “Watch your mouth!”

Needless to say, the car ride was rather tense after that. But Jongin managed to hold a civil conversation with Yoongi as he explained more about what the Twisted were planning. Jongin suspected that Yoongi wasn't so bad behind the dirty-mouthed front he put up.

Kyungsoo was in charge of making phone calls and sending text messages on the way from one address to the next, but they were unable to locate most Guardians they knew. Once, Junmyeon grew so frustrated that he slammed his hand on the steering wheel and slumped over it in the parked car. Jongin could see him shaking slightly, knowing that Junmyeon was suppressing his tears. Kyungsoo and Yoongi looked discreetly out of the windows while Jongin rubbed the back of Junmyeon's neck until he calmed down.

They were running out of time so they only tried one more place, Irene's apartment, before driving out to meet the ship.

Again, Junmyeon apologized sheepishly when the door was opened by a tall, beautiful woman carrying a baseball bat. His eyes lit up, though, as he recognized Joy. Her power was Enhancement, able to make others stronger, faster, and tougher. It was a huge relief to everyone that she agreed to come, making them feel as if their numbers had doubled.

Irene, meanwhile, took one look at the group of people standing in front of her door, clucked her tongue, and disappeared into the pantry, coming back with a small bottle of caffeine and vitamin shot for each of them.

“Ready?” Joy asked Irene while zipping up her long combat boots.

Irene gave her a look of reproach. “To become cannon fodder? Most certainly not. I'm not a fighter, you know that.”

Jongin blinked at them. Last he'd heard the two women were girlfriends, and they were living together, but didn't they treat each other rather coldly?

  
“You're a Cloudshepherd, aren't you?” Junmyeon asked politely.

“Yes,” Irene said.

“Then we might need you. I won't ask you to join the fight. But please come with us and stay nearby so that you can tell if we're successful. If we're not, you have to make it rain like never before. You might be the only one who can stop this city from getting burned down.”

Irene's face paled, but she nodded and said. “Then I better start herding now. I can't make rain clouds appear with the snap of a finger, they have to gather naturally where I tell them to. Good thing the winds are strong tonight.”

Joy nodded and snatched up two motorcycle helmets. “That means I'm driving.”

Glad that they had their own means of transportation, Junmyeon gave a short nod of his head, too. “Follow behind our car. We're taking the Jayu-ro west.”

“How will we get on the ship?” Irene asked.

Awkward silence ensued.

They hadn't thought about that.

Then they all started talking at once, throwing around the first ideas that popped up in their heads. “We'll have to find some rowing boats.” – “Swim...? But the Han is way too wide, and it's dangerous. Maybe the river herself will carry us over?” – “How about contacting the water police? The oil tanker is probably unauthorized anyway.” – “Shit, I don't know anyone who owns a motorboat or runs a yacht rental or something. Do you guys? Or anyone with the power to beam us over there?”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo snapped his fingers, eyes widening as the solution formed in his head. “Chanyeol can drop us off. He said he won't come, but he's never refused to play the hero. And he knows that if we fail, everyone dies, and he and his wife won't be safe, either.”

“I don't like this idea,” Jongin allowed himself to whine to Junmyeon in a small voice. Being carried over a huge river in one of Chanyeol's contraptions sounded an awful lot like cold, wet death... Not to mention that if they made it, a ship most likely full of enemies awaited them.

Junmyeon shuddered. “Me neither. But we have no choice.” He pressed his lips into a thin line which pushed his already round cheeks into firm little apples. Jongin would find it cute if the situation weren't so dire. As it was, he only felt a rush of longing to hold Junmyeon's face and kiss him. Why did this urge always overcome him when they were in life-threatening situations? He wanted to cling onto Junmyeon and face all the dangers of the world by his side.

Together, they could make it.

“Let's _go_ ,” Joy urged.

They sped down the Jayu-ro, the highway that was closest to the riverside, following the flow of the Han. Kyungsoo was on the phone, convincing Chanyeol that they needed him, while Yoongi and Jongin peered out of the windows, their eyes never leaving the surface of the water in search for the tanker. The sky was still completely dark, even more so now that Irene was concentrating on bringing in as many clouds as possible. '5:36' glowed on the digital clock in Junmyeon's car, and Jongin felt wide awake. He was only running on caffeine and adrenaline, and his body would crash terribly when this was all over, but for now he felt eerily calm and collected. Only a nagging feeling at the back of his head told him that the despair was ready to set in.

“There,” Junmyeon said through gritted teeth. They all squinted but couldn't see a thing – and then Jongin realized that that was exactly what Junmyeon was pointing out. The surface of the water glittered where it reflected lights from bridges and from buildings and streetlights. But in the middle of it was a black box of nothing. The ship itself wasn't lit up by any lamps, it was just a distant shape on the water that was invisible safe for those moments when it blocked out some glittering reflections.

“That fucking tiny thing? That's not an oil tanker, that's a barge at most,” Yoongi growled when he had spotted it, too.

Junmyeon shook his head. “Let's be careful, its size is hard to tell in the darkness. And even if it's small, it's probably still big enough to carry the amount of oil the Twisted need. A huge container ship would've made their operation more difficult. It only takes so little oil to pollute water... and even such a small tanker must hold hundreds or thousands of barrels.”

They took the next exit, and prepared themselves, which consisted in stomping ahead towards the shoreline for Kyungsoo and Yoongi. Joy and Irene hugged tightly while storm clouds thickened quickly overhead – Joy seemed to be enhancing Irene's powers.

“Stay on the phone,” Joy said, curling one in-ear headphone around her right ear and clipping it tightly with a hair clip.

“Don't die,” Irene said in the same matter-of-fact tone, but then her gaze softened and she pulled Joy into a kiss before letting her go.

Jongin had averted his eyes to give them a semblance of privacy, instead watching Junmyeon pull out a violin case from under the passenger seat. Even at a time like this it made a smile bloom on his lips. It had been Jongin's idea. The perfect thing Junmyeon could carry around without raising suspicions but could quickly turn into his favourite weapon if need be.

Junmyeon opened the violin case to check the number of wooden sticks that were placed in the mould that would normally hold the instrument. Looking satisfied, he took out the bow, clicked the case shut and slung it onto his back before making his way towards the shoreline. Jongin followed closely behind, watching in fascination as the violin case transformed itself into a quiver full of arrows, and the bow in Junmyeon's hand elongated and curled until it had shaped into a powerful recurve bow.

Standing by the water waiting for Chanyeol's arrival, Junmyeon pushed the bow up his arm so that it was hanging off his shoulder and turned to stand directly in front of Jongin. He grabbed both of his hands and stroked the knuckles with his thumbs as if to rub warmth into Jongin's hands, although Jongin's hands were warmer than Junmyeon's own. Jongin was always warm. And the look in his eyes was so gentle that even the shocking red seemed to glow with something that Junmyeon wanted to come home to. He was ready to admit that now.

Before Jongin had kissed him, Junmyeon had thought of himself as straight because he'd never developed feelings for another man. It simply hadn't occurred to him. He'd never had to consider what he would do if a man made advances at _him_. Reject him, most likely. Jongin, though... Jongin was someone Junmyeon already loved deeply. Not romantically, Junmyeon would have said, and the kiss had certainly caught him in such an awfully wrong moment that he hadn't been able to react in any way at all. Truth be told, he'd probably been traumatized by the horror of the previous battle, and romance had been the furthest thing from his mind in that moment.

At first, Junmyeon had figured that Jongin had done it as a misplaced expression of triumph, something of sorts to surrogate a hug because they were stained with too much blood and dirt and their bodies ached from too many bruises for close physical contact. But then Jongin had sealed himself off from Junmyeon, making it clear that it had been no trivial matter for him. Junmyeon had had two long years to ruminate on it.

Jongin hadn't spoken a word of his feelings, had even apologized for the kiss. But Junmyeon had watched him closely and had caught some of Jongin's stolen glances. It was... exciting to think that Jongin liked him in that way.

'If that's what you want,' Junmyeon had answered Jongin when he'd asked if they were still friends, but it seemed that Jongin hadn't been in the right state of mind to catch the implication, the room Junmyeon had offered their relationship to grow in a different way. Being a shy person by nature, it was possible that Jongin might never confess at all. Even now that Junmyeon was holding his hands, he just watched quietly, a bit fearfully almost, waiting for Junmyeon to speak.

  
'Will it make his heart pound, if I do this?' Junmyeon thought and lifted his palms up so they were pressed against Jongin's, lacing their fingers tightly. Jongin's eyes widened and his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but still no words came out. Was he thinking about kissing Junmyeon again? Would he do it if Junmyeon lifted his hand and curled it around the side of Jongin's neck? Could he feel Jongin's pulse jump if he placed his thumb on the soft spot under his ear behind the curve of his jaw?

“Hyung,” Jongin whispered at the same time as Junmyeon said, heart skipping a beat at the intimate way Jongin addressed him. “Jongin... I want to tell you something important when this is all over. Promise me we'll both make it out alive?”

'I promise,' he could only read on Jongin's lips because in that very moment all sound was drowned out by the ear-shattering roar of an engine as a metal dragon crashed from the sky.

Chanyeol had never been the best at sticking his landing, especially when he came in at high speed. He was riding on a monstrosity of brass and rusted steel that he called a dragon. It was about car-sized and shaped like a bird skeleton whose innards revealed whirring rotors that sounded like helicopters. Each of the two metal wings was spiked with five huge metal feathers that rattled like the badly welded hull of an old airplane. It had hydraulic legs with copper-coloured claws that tore deep furrows into the ground as it skidded to a halt, the remaining momentum flipping it over its head. Chanyeol was thrown five meters away into the grass, and while he was still sailing through the air, the contraption rapidly shrunk in size, ending up rolling against the sole of Chanyeol's boot. The thing was now no more than ten centimetres in diameter and looked like the inner mechanisms of a cuckoo clock.

Chanyeol grabbed it and jumped to his feet, pumping his fists into the air as if he was expecting a crowd of cheering onlookers.

He laughed sheepishly when he was only greeted by the five Guardians whose expressions showed various stages of worry at his crash-landing.

“Someone called for an air taxi? Your friendly neighbourhood Dragonrider is here!”

With a wave of his hand, the clockwork-like thing grew back to its full size, rotors idling at a slow rotational speed. Chanyeol climbed back up on his perch in the neck of the bird-like flying machine, giving off a shower of sparks as he grabbed the reigns that ran to the sides of its huge beak.

“I can't carry all of you at once so you gotta split into two groups.”

Jongin's and Junmyeon's gazes met. This was it. Junmyeon could feel his stomach drop with cold fear, but at the same time he knew that he and Jongin were thinking the same.

“We'll go first.”

Chanyeol made his dragon flap its heavy wings and it lifted up into the air, securing its claws tightly around Junmyeon and Jongin. One of them dangling from each leg, they hurtled across the river. The screeching of metal and roaring of engines made it impossible to arrive in stealth so Junmyeon and Jongin could only prepare themselves to engage in battle as soon as they were dropped.

“As soon as we land,” Jongin shouted over the noise, “jump up right away! If we're surrounded, I'll blast a ring of energy across the floor!”

“Okay,” Junmyeon shouted back.

When they got close to the ship and saw how many Twisted awaited them, Chanyeol shouted a curse and tore at the reigns with his whole strength, making the dragon flap its wings like an eagle after swooping down on its prey. It screeched to a stop and rose backwards into the air again, narrowly escaping a hail of shards that were fired at them. Junmyeon and Jongin were tossed against their restraints, air knocked out of their lungs.

“Closer!” Junmyeon shouted.

Chanyeol's dragon made the next swoop, and this time Junmyeon had his bow ready. He managed five shots, four of which found their marks, but new Twisted were ready to take their places right away. Almost the entire deck of the ship seemed to be crawling with their black silhouettes but it was difficult to tell in the darkness.

“I won't drop you! It's insane!” Chanyeol shouted, circling over the ship at a safe distance.

“You have to! We must take them on!” Jongin shouted.

Chanyeol flew one more semicircle before shouting. “Shit, okay! Get ready, I'll clear a path!”

They dove, and this time Chanyeol made his dragon machine stretch its long neck forward, throwing the skull-like head this way and that to smash its sharp beak against any Twisted that got in the way. For a scary moment Chanyeol was fully exposed on the top of its back to the shards that were shot at them. He screamed and tore through them, aided by Jongin who tried to blow them away with a blast of energy. One slammed into Chanyeol's shoulder and another grazed his leg, but he managed to bowl over several Twisted with the body of his dragon and released Junmyeon and Jongin from the claws before returning to the shore to pick up the others.

Junmyeon jumped up immediately, and Jongin did as he had said. Stomping hard on the ground and throwing his hands to the side, a ring of white energy blasted outward across the floor, turning all the Twisted that stood closest to them to dust. But there were so many more that they had no time to catch their breaths. Junmyeon fired arrow after arrow and dodged any frontal attacks while Jongin covered his back, shooting small, concentrated energy beams from his palms.

Yet the creatures were closing in on them from all sides, cloying the air with their auras of death and disease. Junmyeon had forgotten how quickly this ate away at his willpower.

“Jongin, light!” He shouted while he pulled one of his arrows out of his quiver and turned it into a glowing blade, slashing through one of the Twisted that had come too close already.

Jongin behind him fended off another Twisted and then gave the back of his head a light tap. A flood of heat travelled through Junmyeon's body, making him break out in a bout of sweat, but as soon as it came it passed and left him feeling refreshed. Jongin couldn't heal the mental strain the Twisted put on their opponents but the two Guardians had found out that it helped Junmyeon lessen the symptoms when Jongin induced something like a short fever without the side-effects of feeling ill in him. They had named it 'light,' chasing away what felt like cloying darkness in Junmyeon's chest.

With renewed energy Junmyeon transformed another arrow in his left hand, bringing down a group of Twisted that had taken the form of mean-looking hooligans with a dual sword fighting style.

Jongin was holding up well, too. His movements in combat almost made it look like he was dancing, avoiding attacks with his flexible body and quick steps while he moved his arms fluently to blast energy or draw shields.

Still, the two of them had no chance against the sheer numbers of the Twisted. But they had to make it until the others arrived, ideally even clearing a landing spot for them.

And finally they heard the roaring of engines again. Chanyeol looked pale, forehead beaded with sweat as he gritted his teeth against the pain of his injuries and dropped Kyungsoo and Yoongi from the bird claws. Yoongi charged immediately, mowing down a row of Twisted with his scarily morphed arms, while Joy climbed over the back of the dragon and lowered herself until she was swinging from its tail. Chanyeol stayed as low as he could without being shot down, letting Joy jump when she was sure she could take the plummet and not break her legs. Then he soared back up into the sky with a screech of rusted steel.

Kyungsoo looked like he all he did was glare at the surrounding Twisted but soon their deafening shrieks could be heard as Kyungsoo's mind crushed them one after the other. Joy kept one hand clapped on his shoulder, using her powers to augment his. But even with the Enhancer by his side, Junmyeon noticed that Kyungsoo was the least adept at dodging the shard salves. Several projectiles had already grazed him and left bleeding cuts.

Seeing that Yoongi was fighting on his own like a berserk and they'd probably be more of a hindrance than a help to them, Junmyeon tapped Jongin's shoulder and shouted. “Kyungsoo!”

Jongin understood, and they fought their way over to the other Guardian, covering him and giving him a quick healing. Junmyeon could see that Jongin's hair had already turned considerably darker, a clear indicator of how much life force he had already spent. Junmyeon himself had just ripped the last slip of paper from his keyring to turn it into a dagger. And they were up against such overwhelming odds, making such slow progress!

Just then, a hatch in the floor opened and a huge ball of fire burst out onto the deck of the ship. Joy and Kyungsoo were closest to it and screamed, ducking, but the fire hadn't singed them yet. It didn't move, and when another figure came up from below the deck, Junmyeon realized that it was not a normal fire. His eyes adjusted to the bright flickering light and he could confirm what he'd guessed. It was Baekhyun the fire demon, body enveloped in bright flames as if he was the centre of a pyre, and behind him stood Minseok, commanding Baekhyun's attack.

Yoongi lunged. Both of his arms turned into wickedly ridged grey sickles that he swung towards Baekhyun.

Jongin screamed. “Stop!”

Baekhyun ducked, and danced away from his attacker, laughing playfully.

Yoongi was about to charge at him again, pissed that he'd been interrupted, but Jongin threw himself in front of him. Luckily, he wasn't hurt too badly because Yoongi managed to morph his body back to normal just in time, only crashing into Jongin in his human form.

  
“What the fuck!” Yoongi shouted and got on his feet, helping Jongin up before anyone could stab them through the opening their fall had left in their defences. For now the Twisted were keeping a respectful distance from Baekhyun but that could change any second.

  
“Please don't hurt him! He's a good demon. Minseok, his Demonlord, is a Guardian. He's brainwashed. We have to take him out, but don't kill him!”

“He's just a demon. If we finish him off, they can't use him to burn the city.”

“He's a living being, too! I won't let you!”

“How touching,” came a cold voice from behind Baekhyun and Minseok.

“You–!” Jongin shouted, recognizing the man. He called to the others. “This is Ortag, the Twisted I saw at the bar!”

“Oh, so you're the little snitch. And I thought I'd caught the right one already.” Ortag waved his hand, and two other Twisted in the form of a man and a woman dragged a lifeless body forward by the arms.

Jongin's heart stopped. “Taemin!”

Taemin lifted his head weakly – oh, thank god he wasn't dead! – and pulled his bruised lips into a grin, but it turned into a grimace of pain as he coughed up a splatter of blood.

“Sorry, Jongin,” Taemin croaked. “I went to Eurwangni to sneak on the ship. I wanted to help, just spy a little, but they caught me.”

“Of course they did, you idiot!” Jongin cried. “What were you thinking?!”

“Heh, I'm still alive, aren't I? According to Deadpool, good luck is also a superpow- _ugh!_ ”

Taemin doubled over as he was punched in the stomach. He could only groan and hang down limply, more blood trickling from his mouth. The man and woman let go of his arms, and he collapsed on the ground, lying face down.

“Luck? Ha, ha.” Ortag's laughter seeped with malice. “Luck for us, sure. Tell your little friend what a nice favour you did us.”

“What did you do to him?! I'll kill you!” Jongin roared and would have launched himself forward to attack Ortag had Junmyeon not held him back.

“Answer.” Ortag kicked Taemin in the ribs. He was obviously injured there already, only moaning in pain and curling up.

  
“Stop!” Helpless tears were spilling from Jongin's eyes as he tried to struggle out of Junmyeon's hold. Junmyeon shushed him gently and squeezed his arm. Jongin knew that losing his head would only make the situation worse but he couldn't just let his friend be tortured!

Ortag pushed Taemin once more with the tip of his boot and sneered. “Too humble to tell what a hard worker you are? Fine. Then I'll say it. He helped us drill holes in all the barrels and pry the hull of the ship open. By now, we should already be leaking quite a nasty amount of oil to your precious river. I must have been very convincing, 'cause he kept working hard even after he almost lost a hand. I'm afraid he'll never be able to use that hand again. But it doesn't matter, he won't need it when he's dead.”

Jongin screamed the worst insults at him, joined by Yoongi whose arms kept rapidly shifting their forms from one type of blade to another. He was crouching beside Jongin, ready to pounce. Junmyeon gripped Jongin's arm with one hand and the back of Yoongi's leather jacket with the other.

“Oh, so you don't think traitors should die?” Ortag taunted. The female Twisted reached out her hand, and a thin, two meters long shard grew in her hand. She pressed the pointed tip against Taemin's throat.

Kyungsoo stepped forward, pulling Ortag's attention towards him. Jongin glanced over, and with the steadying grip of Junmyeon's hand on his arms, he managed to think clearly enough to notice that the other Guardians were all shifting into the most advantageous positions. They'd do anything to help, Jongin realized, although it wasn't looking good. He stopped trying to tear himself away from Junmyeon.

“What do you want?” Kyungsoo asked. His voice was clear but hate-filled.

Ortag threw his head back and laughed. Junmyeon used the chance to whisper. “Jongin, I'm out of ammo. Do you still have your cards?”

“Coat pocket, right-hand side,” Jongin whispered back as quietly as he could and angled his body slightly while Ortag hollered.

“What we want? You thought I brought your friend to bargain for something? Ha, ha, we already have everything we want. _Everything!_ You're too late. Your river will die. Your city will die. And him?” He pushed the tip of his boot under Taemin and flipped him over. Taemin's head lolled, showing a grimace of pain. “I only brought him so you can watch him die, too!”

Junmyeon slipped his hand into Jongin's pocket the moment Ortag spread his arms and a handful of bone shards burst from his chest. Jongin screamed and pulled up a shield while the female Twisted lifted her arm, ready to push down and impale Taemin. Kyungsoo strained to crush her at the same time as Junmyeon lifted the deck of cards and flicked one after the other into the air. Turning into small glowing blades, they zoomed through the air and thunked into Ortag until his body was pierced with a dozen throwing knives. He laughed until his last breath, the gurgling sound dying together with him.

Other Twisted charged from all sides. Yoongi had morphed one of his arms into a dull grey chain-whip sword which he swung through the air in a wide circle, ripping everyone apart who got too close to the bladed segments.

Joy screamed but Jongin couldn't check what was happening to her because he lunged towards Taemin. After Ortag had vanished, Jongin could see that the other male Twisted had wasted no time shooting a salve of shards of his own. Kyungsoo crushed him immediately but it was already too late. Taemin's body was spiked over and over with little shards like the quills of a porcupine.

Jongin fell to his knees and ripped handful after handful of those little spikes from Taemin's body, not caring that he was aggravating the injuries at first. But as long as the spikes were stuck in the wounds his healing didn't work. He could hardly see with his vision swimming in tears but he refused to stop. Joy slammed down next to him, bleeding heavily from a head wound, and helped him rip out shards one-handedly. Her other hand was clamped firmly on Jongin's shoulders, enhancing his powers. Jongin took a fraction of a second to push a wave of healing energy to the side of her head, hardly enough to stop the bleeding, but there was no time for more. Taemin's life was fading away rapidly.

As soon as his torso was mostly free of shards, Jongin took a deep breath and desperately slammed his hands onto Taemin's chest, palms glowing with a blinding white light. As Taemin's punctured lungs mended and sucked in a painful breath, his body arched upwards only to fall back down. But his heart, liver, and a bunch of other organs stuttered and started working again. Luckily, his skull hadn't been punctured so his head was alright.

His eyelashes fluttered, and now Jongin was crying from relief. But as he got up to join the battle again that was raging all around them, he noticed in what a dire situation the others were. Junmyeon was exhausted, staggering as he tried to fend off two Twisted with only one small blade left in his hand, forced to use the throwing knife for close-range combat. Kyungsoo and Yoongi stood back to back, both bleeding from several injuries. Kyungsoo strained his eyes as he used his mental powers to crush his enemies, but the intervals between his successful attempts grew longer and longer. Yoongi flicked his chain-whip sword at anyone who got too close but now his form looked more like a cornered rattlesnake and he had a blistered burn wound on one leg.

Between all of them, Baekhyun darted back and forth, giggling as he tried to burn them. He wasn't too serious yet, treating it as a game of tag, but that didn't stop him from inflicting injuries on anyone he got his flame-coated hands on. Here and there, even some of the Twisted fell prey to his madness. Those he turned to ashes without mercy. Minseok shouted at him angrily, trying to direct his attacks at the Guardians.

Seeing as Junmyeon was being pushed back, hardly able to withstand the attacks aimed at him, Jongin darted over to him and blasted his attackers away with a wave of energy.

Junmyeon looked around quickly, assessing their hopeless situation. “I'm almost out of items!”

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and transformed it into a sword, growling when the material only extended to a short sword. He morphed it into a rapier, thinner but at least a good deal longer.

“I don't have much energy left,” Jongin cried. Despair started working its way through his system, leaving him trembling. “We won't make it.”

“Use the rest for healing,” Junmyeon said, then called. “Joy!”

He had a plan. Jongin trusted him. He ran over to Kyungsoo and Yoongi and pushed a handful of healing energy into both of their bodies, then spun around and sprinted over to Joy who was keeping an unconscious Taemin out of harm's way. Junmyeon had reached her already, calling. “Is Irene still on the phone? We need rain, now!”

“Make it rain!” Joy shouted into the small microphone built into the cable of her headset.

Baekhyun heard them and dashed over like a burning cannon ball. Jongin pulled Joy down onto the ground, Baekhyun missing them by a hair's breadth. He stopped, turned, and crouched down to launch himself at them again. Joy jumped up and away from him while Jongin whipped his head around to Minseok who was standing behind him. A first drop of rain fell. It was impossible to keep an eye on the demon and on the man commanding him at the same time.

“Jongin!” Baekhyun called, the inside of his mouth glowing orange. What happened next Jongin thought he saw in slow motion. Baekhyun pulled his elbow back, stretching his flat hand forward, palm down and his sharp nails aligned to five deadly points. Flames licked over his skin and evaporated the raindrops that hit it as Baekhyun charged. For a split second, his gaze flickered to a point behind Jongin and then back. As if his nerves had caught fire, Jongin understood and threw himself to the side with all his might. Baekhyun dashed past him in a wave of heat that made the air shimmer around him – and stabbed his deadly tapering fingers through a point just below Minseok's right collarbone.

They both went down from the force of Baekyhun's attack but Baekhyun pulled his hand out of Minseok's shoulder immediately and let all the flames around his body die.

  
“Jongin, help!” Baekhyun cried, sitting up on Minseok's chest and cradling his head in one hand while wiping tears from his eyes with the other hand. The tears that did spill were little drops of lava and burned holes into Minseok's jacket. Minseok was knocked out cold. Rain started drizzling around them, making Jongin slip on the floor as he ran over to the two of them.

Jongin let the rest of his energy flow into his palms to heal Minseok and didn't understand why it didn't work. No matter how often he pushed his hand towards Minseok, the healing energy just wouldn't latch on.

“I can't heal demon wounds?” He shouted, with new tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

“You healed him!” Baekhyun cried and waved towards Yoongi. He and the others were still fighting off the Twisted in the rain, although now the battlefield had fallen into complete chaos as everyone lost their footing on the slippery deck. Yoongi's leg was fine – Jongin's healing energy had taken care of the burn – but by now his body had taken a few hits from shard projectiles. The bone-white things stuck out of his body, but he ignored them, fighting ceaselessly.

“Oh!” The sight gave Jongin an idea. He squeezed his eyes shut and, stealing himself, stuck his fingers into Minseok's open wound. Minseok screamed, his eyes flying open, but Jongin gritted his teeth and poked around. His fingers touched a foreign object and he pulled it out before quickly healing Minseok. The wound closed finally, and Minseok's pain lessened. Baekhyun threw his arms around Jongin's neck, swallowing back his lava tears as he tried not to burn Jongin.

“This thing,” Baekhyun said, pointing to the charred remains in Jongin's hand, “was what the Twisted used to control him. I knew it, but I couldn't do anything 'cause I can't act against Minseok's will. This was the only way.”

Jongin nodded. Baekhyun didn't have the power to turn against his Demonlord and harm him even if it was to save him from a mind-controlling device. His only way to trick the system was to launch such a powerful attack at Jongin that he couldn't stop the blow before it reached Minseok if Jongin managed to evade it. They'd been gambling with high stakes but Baekhyun's aim and Jongin's agility were unmatched.

Baekhyun smiled weakly, stretching his body out alongside Minseok and pressing his face into his chest. Jongin felt himself smiling, too, when Minseok's hand came up to pat Baekhyun's head.

Rain was pouring down on them, and the circle of Twisted had closed all around the Guardians, herding them together like wolves surrounding a flock of sheep. The Twisted moved unhurriedly now that they had them in their trap.

Kyungsoo sent Junmyeon glances, urging him to give a hint why he made such a grim but calm face. Was he just bluffing?

Jongin felt hope bloom in his chest. Junmyeon wasn't bluffing, he really had a plan.

“Hey, Jongin,” Junmyeon said as their shoulders bumped, no space left to back away to now that the Twisted had closed in on them. “I've never done this before. But you promised we'll make it out alive so wish me luck.”

Jongin didn't like the way that sounded. He wanted to mend his friendship with Junmyeon. He wanted to spend weeks lazing around on Junmyeon's couch watching movies. He wanted to convince Junmyeon to get a small, cute dog. He wanted to laugh at Junmyeon's attempts to clean his hopelessly messy apartment. And he wanted to maybe tell Junmyeon one day that he loved him.

“Junmyeon...” he breathed, for once dropping the honorific. His breath fogged in the icy rain.

Junmyeon pulled his mouth into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Then he turned to face the Twisted.

“Enhancer!” He called, and Joy clapped her hand on his shoulder. Junmyeon raised his arms into the rain and screamed. The sound of sharp objects striking the ground in rapid succession swelled around him. It was the sound of hail, but everywhere on the ship the Twisted started screeching and vanishing. They were struck down by thousands of tiny, sharp needles. Junmyeon's arms started shaking from the strain of turning raindrops into weapons that pelted them. He'd never done anything of this scale before. It was truly a desperate, last-ditch attempt to turn the odds in their favour. But his concentration was starting to slip, and a few needles interspersed the rain falling on the Guardians which Junmyeon had managed to keep clear before.

And then he passed out.

Jongin rushed over and caught him in his arms, lowering him carefully to the floor. Joy almost fell unconscious, too, but she managed to stay on her feet, dizzily grabbing Kyungsoo's shoulder to help him crush a few more Twisted.

Yoongi dashed across the deck with a final burst of strength and sliced through the last remaining Twisted with his grey morphing blades.

It was over.

He collapsed to his knees afterwards, panting heavily.

Kyungsoo was pressing his hands against his temples, trying to alleviate his skull-splitting headache.

Joy sat down, not caring that the floor was wet, and talked quietly to Irene through her headset.

Jongin checked Taemin's and Minseok's pulses while Baekhyun looked up at him from beside Minseok like a lost puppy. Jongin couldn't do anything for them, his energy resources utterly drained. At the moment, he was no more use than an ordinary person who had been awake for almost twenty-four hours and done way too many physically and emotionally exhausting things to fit into one life – much less one _night_. He just wanted to lie down and sleep for a week. His eyelids felt too heavy as he blinked normal, wet raindrops from his lashes. A pale rosy light climbed over the horizon.

“Up, up...” Junmyeon's weak voice reached his ears, and he lifted his head to see the other man staggering over. Junmyeon had regained his consciousness on his own and was urging them on. “We defeated them. But have you forgotten? The oil spill...”

His words were slurred and quiet, showing his state of exhaustion, but he powered on.

“We can't stop here. We gotta–”

Hearing Junmyeon's words and seeing him wobble as he walked, Jongin found a last bit of strength in himself and got to his feet, grabbing Junmyeon around his waist to steady him. Junmyeon led them over to Joy who had her eyes closed, looking like she was sleeping in her sitting position. But she lifted her tired eyelids when they approached.

“Irene?” Junmyeon asked and pointed to her headset. Joy nodded.

  
“Tell her thanks. And to stop the rain now as soon as she can. We needed it, but now it makes it worse.” He gestured weakly to the back of the ship where Jongin assumed they were leaving behind a large oil slick. The ship had stopped moving as far as he could tell but oil was probably still pouring out from the leaks in the hull, spreading over the surface of the water.

Jongin's heart clenched, thinking of all the living beings that had to suffer.

“The dying animals will attract new Twisted,” Jongin suddenly realized, dread washing over him. “How to clean an oil spill...?”

“I know a way that could work,” Kyungsoo spoke up suddenly. His brows were still creased in pain but he stood up. “Controlled burning. I don't know how dangerous it is when the leaking ship is still in the vicinity. Chanyeol has to carry us away first, for sure.”

“But how will we–” Junmyeon broke off with a gasp when he followed the direction of Kyungsoo's gaze. Jongin followed it, too, and realized that they were looking at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun looked back at them with big eyes which emitted a faint orange glow.

Through Irene, they contacted Chanyeol, as most of the other phones had either been destroyed or lost in the battle, or turned into a fencing weapon.

Chanyeol arrived riding a different dragon this time which looked like a humongous mechanical beetle. In the claws of its six feet, it could transport six people, just enough now that they had Taemin, Baekhyun, and Minseok with them if Joy rode behind Chanyeol on the back of the flying machine again.

Irene awaited them on the shore, tear stains on her face and a first-aid kit in her hands which she had pilfered from Junmyeon's car. She did her best to patch up the nastiest injuries while Kyungsoo splashed some cold water on Minseok's face and slapped his cheeks. Baekhyun growled low in his throat and looked like he was about to pounce on Kyungsoo, but the treatment did actually wake Minseok up and Baekhyun quieted down.

Minseok tried to push himself into a sitting position but hissed in pain when he put strain on his wounded shoulder.

Junmyeon explained the situation briefly.

“So we need you to guide Baekhyun. He didn't listen to any of us when we told him what we need him to do. Besides, none of us think we could contain Baekhyun's powers enough to burn only the oil, nothing else,” Junmyeon added.

“Yes, human concepts like doing someone a favour or doing something because it's considered the right thing to do don't apply to demons. But he'll do it for me,” Minseok said and pinched Baekhyun's cheek, fondly watching the fiery glow under Baekhyun's skin rise to the surface in two fingertip-shaped spots and fade away again. Baekhyun rubbed his cheek and pouted, but listened attentively to the commands Minseok formulated for him.

With that, the demon went to work, zapping across the river until he was only visible as a distant ball of fire, as bright as the first peek of the sun over the horizon. Before long, thick dark plumes of smoke rose from the river's surface. Soon the authorities would be alarmed and arrive to investigate the scene. They wouldn't be able to make sense of it but it would surely be on the news.

Jongin wondered if Wonshik and Moonkyu were still sleeping soundly. And Taemin... They had to take him to a hospital. He was still passed out, covered in blood, and some of his wounds still had shards sticking out of them.

Jongin wandered towards the edge of the river, hoping to receive some more life force if he pleaded for the power to heal his friend. He knelt down and touched the water, reaching out to the fish at the bottom of the river. They flitted away, and Jongin could feel that they had trouble breathing and were trying to find their way away from the oil spill. The bubble children were silent, too. Jongin sighed and pulled his fingertips out of the water.

In the faint morning light, he could see that they were coated in a thin, dark film of oil.

“Oh no...”

Baekhyun had set a huge area in the middle of the river ablaze, his flames hungrily eating away the carpet of oil swimming atop the water, but some of it had already been washed ashore. Maybe only a small area was affected? Jongin prayed harder than he ever had while he walked further downstream to find out how bad the damage was. But it was impossible to see as long as it wasn't full daylight.

A splashing sound caught his attention, and he parted a bunch of reeds, but when he saw what it was, a pained cry escaped from his throat and he hastened into the water.

Junmyeon heard him shout and ran to him. He found Jongin kneeling in a patch of oily water, curled protectively around something.

“Jongin!” Junmyeon called, but staggered back when Jongin lifted his head. He was sobbing his heart out, snot and tears running down his face, holding something in his arms that Junmyeon couldn't recognize, because Jongin's lap and his arms and hands and the thing in his arms were covered in black, slimy residue of oil.

“Junmyeon-hyung!” Jongin wailed, sounding so broken that Junmyeon's heart shattered.

Jongin lifted the thing in his arms, and Junmyeon could see that it was a dying duck. Its whole body was sticky and black. It tried to flap one of its wings but the feathers were too heavy. In the end, it just rested its head in the crook of Jongin's arm.

Crying and shaking, Jongin wiped the duck with his scarf.

Stepping closer, Junmyeon could hear that Jongin was repeating to himself. “I have to save it, I have to save it.”

“Jongin...” Junmyeon called as gently as he could, pained by the knowledge that he was hurting Jongin even more by saying it. “It's no use...”

“No!” Jongin cried angrily. “I can heal it!”

There was something in his eyes that scared Junmyeon. Their colour was brown now, the red long since faded away, but Jongin had never looked so wild, so out of it with anguish.

“But you used up all the life force already,” Junmyeon yelled, desperate to make him see reason.

“N- Not all of i- it.”

Jongin's whole body was trembling uncontrollably now.

Junmyeon realized too late what Jongin was doing. Jongin's carotid artery stood out in black against the side of his neck. With each quick pulse of his heart, the black creeped further up his cheek and spread out into the branches of smaller arteries. An then all at once a red burst of energy shot from Jongin's chest and enveloped the duck like the pulse of a dying star, then collapsed in on itself.

The duck quaked loudly and spread its wings, flapping them in panic as it wound out of Jongin's grip to fly up into the sky, unharmed. And healed.

Jongin fell over into the water like a toppled pillar. Junmyeon screamed and grabbed him, refusing to believe that he was dead. He pulled him up onto the riverbank but he couldn't feel a pulse. The black discolouration of his arteries stood still together with his heart.

Junmyeon felt cold, so cold. His fingers lost their strength and Jongin slipped from his grip. Or was he pulled?

Junmyeon lifted his head but he could barely see through his tears. No, he wasn't wrong. The river had formed a hand around Jongin's legs and was pulling him back towards the water.

“No! You can't have him!!” Junmyeon yelled, choked with tears. He lifted Jongin's torso and hooked his arms under Jongin's armpits, pulling with all his strength.

But it was as if he were no stronger than a butterfly. Despite digging his heals into the dirt, the river pulled Jongin away with the same steady force that carved valleys into mountains. Junmyeon kept shouting and refusing to let go until he himself was waist deep in the icy water. Then Jongin was pulled under and slipped from Junmyeon's hands.

“Give him back! There's something I wanted to tell him!” Junmyeon shouted and punched the surface of the water until he couldn't feel his hands anymore. “At least... let me bury him.”

 

4\. Blossoms


Junmyeon had been taken to the hospital with severe pneumonia. After he was released but still on sick leave, he visited his family, and when that didn't provide enough distraction, he busied himself with rebuilding the network of the Organization. To everyone's surprise, Yoongi became one of the most active members, working hard to strengthen their ties with Guardians in other countries, as well. The Twisted would never catch them as unprepared again, he swore.

But nothing Junmyeon did filled the gnawing emptiness in his life that Jongin had left. And ironically the only thing that provided some solace of mind was to take extensive strolls along the riverbank where Jongin had been taken from him. There were some stairs leading down to the water not far from the spot, and Junmyeon could sit there forever, until he was numb and frozen stiff. The weather was even colder now than it had been back then, a layer of ice covering the Han river. Junmyeon would stare at it forever, listening to the water burbling below.

Some areas along the riverside were still freshly shaven, bare sand showing beneath the frost where the polluted layer had been scraped off to restore an inhabitable environment for birds and amphibians. They looked like wounds that had to be reopened before they could heal properly. Come spring, weeds would grow like a tender layer of new skin.

It started snowing today when Junmyeon sat on the stairs and let his gaze drift into the distance across the broad river. Something soft brushed his cold cheeks and he turned his face up, sighing wistfully. The snowflakes drifted like flower petals, covering everything and turning the world into a hushed wonderland. The soft white glow promised healing and reminded Junmyeon of Jongin. As did everything, in one way or another.

A figure appeared in the densely falling snow, a man in a long, light brown coat who approached the spot where Junmyeon was sitting. Junmyeon's heart missed a beat as he thought how much the man looked like Jongin. Junmyeon scrambled to his feet when the man stopped next to him and peered out over the water.

Gaping, Junmyeon raked his eyes over the man's profile. He looked _exactly_ like Jongin.

“What...” Junmyeon couldn't breathe. The slightest stirring of air might disperse this mirage.

“I was hoping I'd run into you again one day.” The man's voice was deep, soft, and smooth, with a little playful note in his tone, just the way Junmyeon remembered it.

The man tilted his head slightly towards Junmyeon, revealing a smile on his full lips before drawing his features into a carefully neutral expression and gazing into the distance again.

Everything about him, down to the tiniest twitch of muscle, screamed Jongin. But that was impossible.

Junmyeon chuckled to himself. “I'm going crazy.”

Jongin started stomping his feet lightly on the ground, making a frustrated sound but laughing at the same time, as if he couldn't contain himself anymore. “Hyuunng,” he whined, “come one, aren't you happy to see me? I thought you'd show more of a reaction...”

It was such a _Jongin_ thing to do that Junmyeon's insides lurched and before he knew it, he was choking on his sobs. He threw his arms around the man and wailed against his chest, face pressed into his scarf and coat. “Jongin, I don't understand! I saw you die! You were pulled under the water.”

Junmyeon gripped the lapels of the man's coat and pulled lightly, looking up at him with a tear-streaked face. “Forgive me, I'm just missing someone like crazy. It hurts so much!”

“I'm not dead. Did you think I'd break my promise that easily?” Jongin pouted. “I've been looking for you, hyung. I wanted to see you.”

“Then why aren't you looking at me?!” Junmyeon's voice sounded shrill in his own ears. He placed his hand on Jongin's jaw and pushed it towards him, hating the way Jongin avoided meeting his eyes face to face. He shouted angrily. “Why don't you look at me and tell me what happened back then? Make me believe that this is really you!”

But Jongin slapped his hand over the left side of his own face before Junmyeon could look at him properly and wouldn't budge, no matter how much Junmyeon pulled on his arm. Jongin's playful expression had disappeared. He looked pained and angled his face down and away again as soon as Junmyeon released him.

“It's ugly... I'll tell you what happened but don't look. You know, back then I couldn't just– I _had_ to save the duck's life. I had only my own life force left to give but I thought I could just transfer a bit. I didn't know it was risky! I wanted to share it like they always do. I just tugged a bit, but it was like something _ripped_ and it kept– kept spilling.” Jongin shuddered. “The river said I was stupid. But she said, for the duck's life I'd saved, she'd save mine. She mended the, uh, the crack and refilled my life force.”

“Sh- she _healed_ you?” Junmyeon stuttered, feeling stupid. “Oh...”

“She said she wanted to smack you for pulling so hard.”

A hint of laughter was back in Jongin's voice. Junmyeon's clenched heart unfurled like delicate flower petals after a harsh winter.

This was real, his thoughts sang, as he drew one shuddering breath after the other into his lungs.

This was real.

Jongin was here. Alive. Real. _Here._

And the river had saved him, not drowned him.

“So I heard you had something important to tell me.” Jongin tried for a light, joking tone.

Junmyeon gave an indescribable cry, part laughter, part pain, disbelief, and recklessness. He stumbled into Jongin's arms and slapped both hands on Jongin's cheeks to turn his face towards him, planting a big, wet kiss on his mouth.

Jongin's eyes widened in shock and he stumbled back, immediately squeezing his left eye shut again.

“Oh come on, how can you still be self-conscious about your stupid eye when I just kissed you!”

Jongin blushed.

Seeing him blush made heat rise to Junmyeon's cheeks, too. He had really kissed Jongin...!

Oh well, he would definitely do it again.

But first, he approached Jongin carefully, reaching out to brush his thumb over the apex of Jongin's cheek, right under his closed eye.

“Come on,” Junmyeon coaxed, unable to keep his voice from turning sweet as his chest overflowed with fondness. “Do you think it matters what your eye looks like when I like you so much?”

“Do you–” Jongin whispered, breathless, “like me? As in... If I like you, too, we could try being more than friends? Would that be okay with you?”

“Yes, Jongin. We can be more-than-friends.” Junmyeon hid his mouth behind his hand but it was still obvious that he was chuckling.

“Don't laugh at me,” Jongin whined, but he cracked into a smile, too.

“Say 'lovers',” Junmyeon said, feeling his own face glow with warmth, snuggling his cheek up against Jongin's shoulder.

Jongin turned his face away, but this time it was just because he was so flustered. He mumbled the word too quietly to be heard.

Junmyeon smiled to himself. He lifted his head from Jongin's shoulder, stood in front of him and turned his face towards him again with both hands on his cheeks. Jongin closed his eyes and leaned down a little. Junmyeon pecked his plump lips, his nose, and then his left eyelid, inwardly shaking his head at himself for how easily all these forms of endearment came to him. But Jongin simply deserved it. Junmyeon had always been affectionate with him. Now, he could freely shower Jongin with love, right?

“Look at me,” he asked, still holding Jongin's face gently between his palms.

And Jongin slowly opened his eyes.

“Wow,” Junmyeon breathed.

Jongin's right eye had the normal deep chestnut colour that Junmyeon knew. But his left eyes was a light, muddy grey-green colour – the exact same colour as the water of a broad river on a cloudy day.

“I like it,” he decided and kissed Jongin again.

Later he found out that the blackened artery on the side of Jongin's neck was still visible, too. Much paler than before, barely a shade darker than his skin, but noticeable enough for Jongin to feel self-conscious and wear turtlenecks most of the time. Whenever Jongin let him, Junmyeon pulled the fabric down and nosed along Jongin's neck until he became too ticklish and pulled his shoulders up with a _kyak_. But Junmyeon could tell that Jongin liked it, too.

“You don't have to do that, you know. I'll get used to those parts of me and grow to like them. Like my broken nail from when I slammed my finger in the door as a child.”

“I know.” Junmyeon would just shrug and beam at him. “I just want you to know that I like all of you.”

And Jongin would grumble. “You're not allowed to be the cheesy one here.” But a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks would reveal his true feelings.

They would often visit Taemin while he was still recovering in a hospital, playing card games with a new deck Junmyeon bought Jongin. Junmyeon's luck at Tiger Hunt was even more mediocre than Jongin's but Jongin lost more often. Junmyeon started suspecting that Jongin tried to collect Swords and Blossoms pairs on purpose, even if it lowered his chances of winning significantly.

The one time Junmyeon asked him about it, Jongin just blushed and denied it, so Junmyeon dropped it. He had a pretty good guess of what the answer was anyway. So he bought Jongin a bracelet for Valentine's Day, a simple brown leather band with a stylized flower petal in the middle, and a similar one for himself with a stylized dagger. Jongin blushed furiously, and after that he played Tiger Hunt normally again.

Another day, Jongin gave him a box of Pepero, pouting when Junmyeon laughed. “Aren't we too old for this?”

“ _I_ am not too old!” Jongin protested. “And I'm part thousands-of-years-old river. So you're not too old, either, because you're actually way younger than me.”

Junmyeon just laughed, ruffled Jongin's hair, and settled in his lap with a Pepero stick between his lips.

But just as there were good days, there were bad days, too. Nightmares of the battles frequented both of their dreams, but that wasn't even the worst part. Jongin eventually opened up about the anxiety he felt when he thought about the next attack the Twisted would surely launch one day.

“I'm not sure I can make it through another fight. I want to move far away from Seoul into the countryside. Some tiny ld town the Twisted won't bother to attack.” Jongin looked at Junmyeon, his expression revealing how badly the guilt was eating at him. “But I can't just run away when I have these powers. I'm one of the few people who can do something against the Twisted. Isn't it my duty?”

Junmyeon squeezed his shoulder. “Jongin, did you choose to be born with your powers?”

“...No,” Jongin said reluctantly, gnawing at his lips, knowing where this was going and knowing that Junmyeon was right.

“Then you're not obligated to use them. Giving you no choice isn't fair. You didn't ask for this, but you did your best anyway. You already saved this city not once, but twice. If these powers come with such a thing as duty, you've fulfilled yours already. Don't beat yourself up over nothing, do you hear me?”

“Yes.” Jongin cowered a little under Junmyeon's fierce gaze, but he was glad that Junmyeon drilled some sense into his head.

“No one can expect us to do this until we're ninety, okay? So at what point do we stop? In our forties? That's quite old to be heroes, isn't it? In our thirties? That's soon, Jongin. No one can hold it against us if we stop _now_. Besides, no one ever talks about the injuries that aren't visible to the eye. I don't want you to put more burden on yourself here...” Junmyeon pressed one hand flat on Jongin chest, right over his heart. “...and here.” He placed a soft kiss on Jongin's forehead.

Jongin burrowed his face into Junmyeon's arms and let him hold him for a long time.

It stayed hard for Jongin to accept that it would be okay to step down from being an active Guardian. He often thought that his resolve would crumble in the face of a new attack and that he would probably join the fight despite how detrimental it would be to his mental health. But he just couldn't stand by and do nothing.

One night after an Organization meeting, Jongin was still mulling these thoughts over even as he met up with Taemin, Moonkyu, and Wonshik at their favourite bar. Junmyeon often joined them now that he and Jongin were together. He noticed how absent-minded Jongin was when they sat at one of the booth tables, drinking and playing card games. The expression on Jongin's face was the same he always wore when he was torturing himself over his Guardian role again.

Junmyeon bumped him with his shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and signalled him to stop thinking about it with a shake of his head.

Jongin let out a deep sigh and nodded. His furrowed brow smoothed out.

Still, he bargained. “I don't have to stay out of it completely, you know? I could just stick to the sidelines from where I can still help and heal people.”

“...Anywhere you want to be as long as you don't have to be in the middle of it, bearing the brunt of it.” Junmyeon relented for now and took his hand. “We're a team. I'll be by your side.”

The flickering gleam of the candle on their table cast a reddish glow into both of Jongin's differently coloured eyes. He held Junmyeon's gaze for a long moment, and if they weren't in public, he would have kissed Junmyeon.

“I know,” he said finally and linked his fingers with Junmyeon's.

Wonshik looked at them over the rim of his Jack and Coke as if he understood perfectly what they were talking about.

“Yes, that's right.” He nodded wisely. “Always protect the healer. Your party will thank you.”


End file.
